



5^^ 



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.•-^,j<9!rii- 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

.. iOpyright No. 

8helLM6.S4- 



Chap.. ('()]iyright No. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Seeking the Old Paths 



AND OTHER SERMONS 



BY 



ROBERT MOFFETT. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
E. V. ZOLLARS, LL. D. 



AND A BIOGRAPHIGAJ^^KETCH BY 

JOHN R. gaff; a. m. 



•y 



PUBI.ISHKD BY THE AUTHOR 

715 lyOGAN Avenue 

CIvEVEI^AND, - OHIO. 






TAA^O COPIES RECEIVED, 

L ibrary of Coijgre«8| 
Office of the 

Register of Copyright* 

48628 

Kntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 
by 
ROBKRT MOFFETT 

In the office of the I^ibrarian of Congress 
at Washington. 




SECOND COPY, 






Press of 

WINN & JUDSON. 

Cleveland. 



TO 

My Faithfui. and Devoted Wife, 
who has been 

the dutifui. home-keeper during the 
years of the author's ai.most constant 
work in the fiei<d, and who deserves a 
crown of honor, 

this voi.ume is 

AFFECTlONATEtY DEDICATED. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction ' . 

Preface 

BlOGRAPHICAI, 

I. Seeking the Oi.d Paths . 

II. The REVEAI.ED Mystery 

III. What Think Ye oe the Christ? . 

IV. The Work and Witness oe the Spirit 
V. Prayer and Providence . 

VI. REDEEMED BY THE Bl,OOD OF CHRIST 

VII. The Greater Works 

VIII. The Great Commission 

IX. The Gospei. of Christ 

X. The Remission of Sins . 

XI. The Greatest Question . 

XII. What is Conversion? . 

XIII. What Hath God Wrought ! . 

XIV. A MoDEi. Conversion 
XV. Saui< of Tarsus .... 

XVI. Under the Juniper Tree 

XVII. The Woman at the Wei.1. 

XVIII. ''So" 



V 

ix 

X 

1 

33 

51 

67 

81 

105 

121 

135 

147 

159 

174 

186 

201 

223 

241 

259 

277 

293 



NTRODUCTION. 



BY E. V. ZOLLARS, LL. D. 



nHE personality of an author, the period of life Avhen 
the writings were produced, his historic place in 
the religious body with which he is identified, and the 
subjects discussed, determine very largely the practi- 
cal value of a volume of sermons. The forecast for 
this volume must, therefore, be peculiarly favorable, 
since these factors enter into its production at their 
maximum strength. The consideration of the value 
of these factors as they influence these sermons must, 
therefore, both awaken a deep interest in the reader, 
and create a large expectation which, we venture to 
say, will be more than met by a careful reading of the 
following pages. 

Robert Mofiett is a man of strong and striking 
personality. He is a commanding figure among the 
preachers of the Disciples. For many years, as the 
Secretary of State and National Missionary organiza- 
tions, he has been prominently before the great people 
with which he is associated, and he knows them as 
perhaps few other men now living know them, and is 
known by them as few men have ever been known. 
He has, always and everywhere, commanded the re- 
spect and admiration of the most intelligent and 
thoughtful people. That he possesses superior gifts 
of mind and heart is a fact universally recognized. 
He has what may be termed a well-poised mind. It 
cannot be stirred by petty questions, such as occupy 
attention of small souls, but it is awakened by great 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

thoughts, and, when aroused, it moves with a power- 
ful momentum. He is logical, clear, incisive, original, 
and withal exceedingly forceful in his presentations of 
truth. He never skims the surface, but dives deep, 
grasping the great underlying principles, and tracing 
them outward into their practical relations and appli- 
cations. He is especially quick in his perceptions of 
spiritual verities. His powers of heart are no less 
striking than his powers of mind. Such, I think, will 
be the verdict of all who read these sermons. 

Historically, the author belongs to the second 
generation of preachers among the Disciples. The 
first generation, consisting of Alexander Campbell, 
and his father. Barton Warren Stone, and Walter 
Scott, and their co-laborers, were a remarkable body 
of men ; admirably qualified, both by nature and train- 
ing, for inaugurating the great "Restoration Move- 
ment." No other body of men can or ought to usurp 
their place in the public eye, and in the popular heart; 
but they were succeeded by a body of men no less 
remarkable for intellectual vigor and spiritual power, 
who did their work with the same thoroughness and 
efficiency. They are not only highly respected, and 
greatly admired for their abilities, but they are pro- 
foundly loved for their work's sake. Their names, 
which have become familiar household words, are 
synonyms of strength and power. 

Prominent among this second generation of 
preachers, and a typical man of the class, stands 
Robert Moftett. He possesses, in a marked degree, 
the qualities that have made both the first and second 
generations efficient in the Lord's service. The 
spiritual and organic union of the people of God, 
which constitutes the dominant thought of the Disciples 
and serves as their differentiating principle, he accepts 
without qualification or mental reservation, and he has 



INTRODUCTION. Vll 

been able to develop, logically and with great clearness, 
the subordinate truths that take root in this great 
primary idea. To the great underlying principle, and 
to the no less remarkable practical method by which 
its accomplishment was sought, namely, — a return in 
letter and spirit to the Christianity of the Apostolic 
age, — he has been as true as the needle to the pole. 
The divine authority and all-sufficiency of the Scrip- 
tures, the Lordship of Jesus, the name, creed, and 
ordinances of the church, — all in fact that necessarily 
cluster around the great central plea, and serve to 
make it a practical possibility, — he has most firmly 
grasped and most tenaciously held. ' The stimulating 
power of a great idea is forcibly illustrated in these 
sermons. They are clearly the product of a mind 
whose native fecundity has been greatly increased by 
the fertilizing and clarifying power of epoch-making 
truth. 

The representative preachers among the Disciples, 
both of the first and second generations, have been 
characterized by such strength and vigor in their pre- 
sentation of the Gospel, such a comprehensive grasp 
of the Bible, and especially such a lucid view of the 
plan of salvation, that they constitute a distinct and 
clearly marked class of ministers. Their sermons 
possess such clearness, such simplicity, such breadth 
and accuracy of scriptural knowledge, in short, such 
elements of excellence and true greatness that, as a 
class, they stand unexcelled. The sermons of Robert 
Moffett, published in this volume, are excellent ex- 
amples of the distinct and striking class to which they 
belong. 

The third thing that tends to give these sermons 
peculiar value, is the fact that they embody the very 
cream of a lifetime of thought and reflection. The 
very best thoughts of a great preacher gradually crys- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



A. M. 



|H0SE who personally know the author of these 
sermons, and who have enjoyed the pleasure of 
his acquaintance and the blessings of his ministry 
and work, will attach, perhaps, little value to a brief 
biographical sketch written by another. The best 
biography is that written by himself in their hearts, 
and on the great religious movement of which his 
work has been a conspicuous and important part. 

It matters much less where, geographically, a 
man comes into the world, than how he comes into its 
life as a living force, or what he does and becomes in it. 
Heredity and environment condition his character and 
power. Robert Moffett was born in Laporte County, 
Ind., November 9th, 1835, the youngest of the three 
sons of Garner and Mary J. B. Moffett, who moved to 
Indiana in 1831 from Washington Co., Ya. In 1836 
the family moved to Cherry Grove, Carroll Co., 111., 
and there, amid a deeply religious and well cultured 
community, Robert grew into manhood. Garner 
Moffett was a man of prominence and influence 
throughout and beyond the limits of his county, and 
was held in high esteem for his character and useful- 
ness. He was a pioneer among the Disciples of 
northern Illinois, and, though a farmer, was a preacher 
of no mean ability, and was influential in laying the 
foundations and caring for the churches of that region. 
His wife was a woman ^of sterling virtues and of 
devoted religious character — a mother in Israel — 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XI 

whose influence and example left an abiding impres- 
sion upon the church and community. From this 
parentage Robert received the priceless inheritance of 
a healthy physical organization, a strong and well- 
balanced mental constitution, and a religious and 
intellectual training, in which were laid the founda- 
tions of his strong character and useful life. 

The year 1854 Robert spent in preparatory 
studies at Hiram, Ohio, and graduated from Bethany 
College, W. Va., in the class of 1859, having sat four 
years at the feet of the Sage of Bethany. Soon after 
graduation he married Miss Lucy A. Green, of Sum- 
mit County, Ohio, — a daughter of the late venerable 
Almon B. Green, — who, throughout his entire ministry, 
has been a helpmate worthy of a crown of honor among 
women. Of their union nine children were born, six 
of whom have passed into that rest that awaits the 
awakening to the endless life. 

He began preaching while yet a student at Beth- 
any College and was there ordained to the ministry in 
1859. He spent nearly a year evangelizing in north- 
western Illinois, and in June, 1860, settled with the 
church in Wooster, Ohio, as pastor, where he 
remained nearly five years. In January, 1865, he was 
called to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, where he filled a success- 
ful ministry of ^Ye years, when he was appointed 
Corresponding Secretary of the Ohio Christian Mission- 
ary Society. In May, 1870, he went to Bedford, Ohio, 
where he preached three years in connection with his 
work as Corresponding Secretary. In 1875 he moved 
to Cleveland, where he still resides. In October, 1882, 
he was made Corresponding Secretary of the American 
Christian Missionary Society,filling the office till 1892, 
continuing, in 1893, as assistant, spending the fall of 
'93 and spring of '94 evangelizing, mostly in Canada. 
From August, '94, to June, '95 he was assistant 



Xll BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 

Secretary of the Ohio Christian Missionary Society, 
when he was again chosen Corresponding Secretary, 
retiring, finally, in July, '99, after a continued service 
in the Society work of nearly thirty years, having 
successfully and faithfully filled every position into 
which he has been called, and retaining the confidence 
and the affection of his brethren to the end of his 
long service. His physical power of endurance, his 
persevering industry, his evenly balanced mind and 
temperament, — giving him quick insight into men and 
things, — his large common sense, and his faithful devo- 
tion to duty have made him an invaluable counsellor 
and worker for the Societies and the churches. 

As a preacher, he is strongly affirmative, addressing 
both the mind and the heart. He has large sympathy, 
fine imagination, strong and well trained logical 
powers and a vocabulary of chaste, and vigorous 
Anglo-Saxon words ; and though simple in style, 
there are times when he carries his audience through 
grand marches and sublime flights of eloquence. A 
Baptist minister, who heard him frequently, said to 
the writer, " In listening to his theme, we forget the 
man" — a compliment, indeed. 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 



" Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask 
for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye 
shall find rest for your souls." — Jeremiah vi: i6. 



D 



HIS is not the counsel of human wisdom. We 
have no reason to expect better things in the 
old than in the new paths. We do not advise the 
farmer to cut down his wheat the old way. We do 
not advise the school director to put the old books in 
the schools. Murray's Grammar and Dibol's Arith- 
metic are out of date. We do not go back to Sir 
Isaac Newton for the best lessons in Astronomy. We 
recognize that man is a progressive creature — that 
this generation is wiser than the last, and that it is 
folly to expect better things in the old than in the new 
paths. Why, then, do we find counsel like this in the 
oldest and best of books ? Simply because the paths 
God marks out for our feet are perfect paths. The 
'' Old Covenant," which God gave to Israel, when he 
took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt — 
fifty days after the first passover — was perfect for its 
purpose, and any departure from it was imperfection 
and sin. Likewise the "New Covenant," announced 
by Peter, fifty days after the last passover — the day of 
Pentecost — is a perfect covenant. No man can im- 



2 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

prove the Gospel, and no man can add to or subtract 
from the Word that is "profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
ness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto all good works." No man can teach 
God wisdom. Books have been written, and lectures 
have been delivered against Christianity, when the 
books would not have appeared, nqr would the lec- 
tures have been delivered, if their authors had first 
stopped to inquire — What is Christianity ? Several 
years ago a company of gold seekers, crossing the 
plains, came late one afternoon to a stream of water, 
and, being exceedingly thirsty, rushed to the water, 
only to be sadly disappointed, because the water was 
brackish and bitter. While the rest of the company 
were resting and grieving over the disappointment, 
one man wandered up the stream and came quite un- 
expectedly to the fountain whence it sprang, and here 
he was rejoiced to find the water as sweet and re- 
freshing as the old spring at home. He wondered 
how a stream so bitter could flow from a fountain 
so sweet. Passing back over the ground he noticed 
here and there little streams bringing, from other 
sources, the bitter waters which had contaminated all 
the stream below. So Christ and the inspired apostles 
gave us the pure waters of life; men have been pour- 
ing into the the stream human traditions, and religious 
philosophies and speculative theologies, and infidels 
have mistaken these for Christianity. If we want to 
enjoy pure Christianity we will not find it short of Christ 
and the apostles, as recorded in the New Testament. 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 3 

There is, however, a human tendency to set up 
man's wisdom against God's wisdom. Moses lifted up 
his voice of warning against a departure from the old 
paths, and not all his tearful pleading could keep the 
feet of Israel in the Lord's way; and over and over 
again God raised up prophets to warn them not to 
depart; and when they had wandered, to call them back 
into the old paths, wherein alone they could find 
" rest for their souls." Under the " New Covenant," 
how faithful the warnings of Paul against any de- 
parture from the word of Christ, and against the 
putting of man's wisdom, and so-called science, and 
human philosophies in place of the pure Gospel ! 
And the voices of Luther and Wesley and Campbell 
have been in harmony with the voice of God, calling 
the spiritual Israel from human paths to the old paths 
of God; and perhaps the time wiU never come that 
God, in his providence, will not need to raise up men 
to keep our wandering feet in the right way. 

God's men have always been radical men and 
" laid the axe at the root of the tree." They have 
never been satisfied to " heal the hurt of the dauo^hter 
of my people slio^htly, saying, 'Peace, peace, when 
there is no peace.' " They were never troubled with 
what the w^orld calls poKcy. Policy is like a bird 
flying through the forest, over this limb, under that 
one, dodging this snag, swiftly turning round that 
one — zigzaging its way through — any way to get 
through. Such policy is mean enough in politics; it 
is outrageous in religion. Principle is like the eagle 
that soars above the tree tops, fastens his eye on the 



4 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

object, and goes straight to it. God's men have 
always been men of principle. Of course they were 
unpopular. Moses was unpopular when he lifted up 
the voice of warning. Elijah was unpopular and fled 
from the wrath of Jezebel; Jeremiah was unpopular 
and got into prison; John the Baptist lost his head; 
Paul had to cry out, " Have I become your enemy 
because I tell you the truth? " Luther was unpopu- 
lar; Wesley was unpopular; Campbell was unpopu- 
lar. They who set out to reform the world meet no 
welcome from those needing the reform. The world 
is not beseeching you to come and reform it. Besides, 
the onus prohandi rests with those who claim that the 
world needs reforming. God's men have the martyr's 
spirit. They put all sacrifices into the cost, and lift 
up no complaining voice. 

No one questions that God, by His providence, 
raised up Luther, in the 16th century, to call the 
church back to the old paths. The Roman CathoHc 
church had reversed the Divine order. In the days 
of the apostles it was, first, the Word of God, second, 
the church of God, and last, the minister, a servant of 
God and his church. Rome had put the priests, with 
the pope at their head, first; the church, second, and 
the Bible, last. The Bible really was lost to the people, 
and the priests had put themselves in the place of God. 
Luther's reformation was a revolution^ putting the 
Word of God first, the church second, and the priest 
last — and of course was very distasteful to the priest. 

In the 18th century John Wesley saw the need of 
greater zeal, enthusiasm and piety, growing out of 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 5 

a heartfelt religion, that was everywhere lacking. 
The church was cold, formal, ritualistic, polluted, 
worldly — and far removed from the character of the 
church which flourished and conquered in the days of 
old path light and life. His, also, was a voice of 
reform for which the whole world should be grateful. 

We come now to the main purpose of this address. 
We believe the religious body, numbering now about 
a million, and set down as " Disciples of Christ " in 
the United States census, and having many institu- 
tions of learning and religious journals, and a growing 
literature — all of which compare favorably with those 
of other religious bodies — owe their existence to the 
spirit that moved Luther and Wesley to bring the 
church back to the old paths. 

In the year 1807, Thomas Campbell moved from 
the north of Ireland to this country, and settled in 
Washington County, Pa. He was a minister of the 
Seceeder Presbyterian church, of marked ability, and 
was cordially received and assigned, by the synod, to 
the Presbytery of Chartiers in the western part of the 
state. Here he found himself pleasantly situated in 
the midst of old friends and neighbors who had pre- 
ceded him to the new world. They knew his worth 
and took pleasure in impressing their own high esti- 
mate of his qualifications and personal character upon 
their neigbors of other religious parties. Mr. Camp- 
bell grew in popularity with his brethren and with 
the people, and came to be regarded as the most 
learned and talented preacher in that Presbytery. 



6 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

In the old world he had labored, with some suc- 
cess, to unite the Burghers and Anti-Burghers of his 
own denomination, and had come to believe that these 
divisions among his own people were without sufficient 
reason. "In his new field he found that many religious 
people, of differing faiths, were thrown together into 
thinly settled regions, and were living without the en- 
joyment of ministerial service, and other means of 
grace. On a visit to a few scattered members above 
Pittsburg, his sympathies were strongly aroused in 
behalf of some who belonged to other branches of the 
Presbyterian family, and, in his preparation sermon, 
lamented the existing divisions, and invited his pious 
hearers, without respect to party differences, to enjoy 
the communion season then providentially afforded 
them." This action, and subsequent conversations, and 
discussions with Mr. Campbell, convinced Mr. Wilson, 
the minister then in charge, that Thomas Campbell 
had little respect for "division walls," and that "he 
was disposed to relax too much the rigidness of eccle 
siastic rules, and to cherish for other denominations 
feelings of fraternity." He felt it to be his duty, 
therefore, to present his case to the Presbytery, in the 
usual form of "libel," containing specified charges, 
chief of which was that Mr. Campbell ." had failed to 
inculcate strict adherence to the church standard and 
usages, and had even expressed his disapproval of 
some things in said standard." His reply was con- 
ciliating, but set forth that he had said and done 
" none other things than those which our Divine Lord 
and his holy apostles have taught and enjoined to be 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 7 

spoken and done by his ministering servants " — that he 
" had not taken upon himself to teach anything, as a 
matter of faith or duty, but what is ah'eady expressly 
taught and enjoined by divine authority. -^ * * 
For what error or immorality ought I to be rejected, 
except it be that I refuse to acknowledge as obligatory 
upon myself, or to impress upon others, anything of 
divine obligation, for which 1 cannot produce a ' Thus 
saith the Lord ? ' " ^ 

Here was manifest the spirit of the old path days 
when Peter and John said, " Whether it be right in 
the sight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto 
God, judge ye." The Presbytery censured him, and 
the synod set aside the judgment on account of in- 
formahties, but stated that they regarded his answer 
as " evasive and unsatisfactory, and highly equivocal 
upon great and important articles of revealed religion." 
He tried to continue in the ministry with these people, 
but the spirit of sectarianism so completely overruled 
the spirit of Christ, that he became satisfied that 
"bigotry, corruption and tyi-anny were qualities in- 
herent in all clerical organizations," and severed his 
ministerial connection with the Seceeder Church. 
This did not, however, close his ministerial labors. 
" The novelty and force of the plea he had made for 
Christian liberality and Christian union, upon the basis 
of the Bible, drew to him large numbers of ardent 
sympathizers, who continued to attend his ministra- 
tions wherever it was in his power to hold meetings." 

* The quotations in this address are chieflj' from Richards' Memoirs and 
frequently abbreviated. 



8 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

These meetings created a sentiment in favor of more 
concentrated action. " No separation from the reli- 
gious parties was contemplated, and no bond of union, 
up to this time, had been proposed. They were held 
together by a vague sentiment of Christian union, 
retaining still their several connections with the de- 
nominations. At a general meeting of those devoted 
to the cause of union, Mr. Campbell spake with unus- 
ual force upon the many evils resulting from divisions 
in religious society — divisions that were as unneces- 
sary as they were injurious — and caused by men sub- 
stituting for the infallible Word, theories, opinions and 
speculations of their own. He insisted with great 
earnestness upon a return to the simple teaching of 
the Scriptures, and upon the entire abandonment of 
everything in religion for which there could not be 
produced a divine warrant, and proceeded to announce, 
in simple and emphatic terms, the rule upon which he 
understood they were then acting : ' That rule,' said 
he, ' is this : That where the Scriptures speak^ we 
speak', and where the Scriptures are silent^ we are 
silent? " 

This simple rule appeared at once to many of 
them as a new revelation. At one stroke it put out of 
sight and out of heart all human traditions, human 
creeds, religious theories and speculative theologies 
as bonds of union, and brought them face to face with 
the Word of God. This was henceforth to be their 
guide. Having this Word in their possession they 
must speak it faithfully. " Whatever private opinion 
might be entertained upon matters not clearly re- 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. \) 

vealed, must be enjoyed in silence, and no efibrt must 
be made to impress them upon others as bonds of 
fellowsliip." Union was practicable on the clearly 
revealed things of the Word of God, and still allowed 
the members the largest liberty of opinion concerning 
speculative questions. 

One of the brethren present saw the difficulty of 
putting it into practice. '' Mr. Campbell," said he, " if 
we adopt that as a basis, then there is an end to infant 
baptism" — a statement that caused a profound sensa- 
tion. Mr. Campbell was not at this time convinced 
that this result would follow, but replied, " If infant 
baptism be not found in the Scripture, we can have 
nothing to do with it." This is important as showing 
that, at this time, the questions touching the subject, 
action and design of baptism had not received the 
attention they afterward claimed. Indeed it was not 
until three or four years after, that the father and son 
saw clearly that there is no warrant for infant baptism 
in the Scriptures. There were those who feared to go 
by a rule that might result in abandoning infant bap- 
tism, and ceased their attendance upon the meetings. 

In August, 1809, "The Christian Association" was 
proposed, and organized a month later, " for the sole 
purpose of promoting simple evangelical Christianity, 
free from all mixture of human opinions and inven- 
tions of men." They expressly stated that " this 
society, by no means, considers itself a church, nor 
does it, at all, assume to itself powers peculiar to such 
a society; nor do the members, as such, consider 
themselves as standing connected in that relation. 



10 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

* ^ but merely as voluntary advocates for church 
reformation," They also proposed " to encourage the 
formation of similar associations," and organized a 
committee to carry forward the objects of the 
Association. 

Then followed the " Declaration " which was, in a 
sense, the constitution of the Association, and after- 
ward " The Address," which set forth clearly the great 
aim of the movement " to come fairly and firmly to 
original ground, ^ ^ and take up things just as 
the apostles left them," and in this way " become dis- 
entangled from the accruing embarrassments of inter- 
vening ages," and " stand upon the same ground on 
which the church stood at the beginning " — and so he 
made it evident that this work was to be a Restoration^ 
rather than a Reformation. 

Alexander Campbell, the son of Thomas Camp- 
bell, at this time had reached his majority, and at once 
informed his father that the purposes of the move- 
ment had won his heart, and that he would devote his 
life to the simple preaching of the Word; and that he 
had resolved to do this without fee or money compen- 
sation, a resolution which he adhered to throughout a 
long and successful ministry. A few years later he 
became the recognized leader of the movement. 

Coming to see that the New Testament gives no 
sanction to infant baptism, and that immersion is the 
only baptism ordained by Jesus Christ, the Campbells 
and others were baptized June 12, 1812 — the Baptist 
minister consenting to dispense with the usual '' reli- 
gious experience." Shortly after this the remaining 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 11 

membership of the Brush Run Church, which had 
been organized the year before, followed this good 
example, and were baptized simply upon profession of 
faith in Christ; and so this church became a body of 
immersed believers, numbering about thirty in all. 
This made at least one bond of union with the 
Baptists, who repeatedly solicited them to join the 
Red Stone Association; and this they did, as a churchy 
expressly stipulating " that they should be allowed to 
teach and preach whatever they learned from the Holy 
Scriptures, regardless of any creed or formula of 
Christendom ; " and they were received, notwith- 
standing their remonstrance against all human creeds 
as bonds of union and communion amongst Christian 
churches. 

It will be seen that a man like Alexander Camp- 
bell, having made up his mind to investigate every 
religious question de novo^ and having always and 
everywhere the courage of his convictions, would not 
be apt to travel in Baptist ruts; and that his preaching 
would always be something different from the average 
Baptist sermon. And so it turned out that the next 
ten years of union with this Association were not 
always pleasant. Jealousy had something to do with 
the plottings of small men. He finally escaped their 
pursuit of his heresy by becoming the minister of a 
new church at Wellsburg, which church preferred 
affiliation with the Mahoning Association. This asso- 
ciation was soon leavened with the new teaching of 
the Campbells and such able co-adjuters as Scott, 
Bentley, Henry and Hayden, and ceased, in time, to 



12 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

be distinctively Baptist. It ceased to exist as a 
Baptist Association in the year 1830. Having run 
hurriedly over this history, let us see what ground 
these good men had reached : 

1. They had put into practice the Protestant 
principle that the Word of God, and especially the 
New Testament, is the all-sufficient and alone sufficient 
rule of faith and practice for Christians. 

2. They had rejected all human traditions and 
human creeds, as bonds of union and communion. 
They could see but little difference betw^een the Roman 
Catholic doctrine that the church, through its priest- 
hood, is the only interpreter of Scripture, and the 
Protestant sectarian position, that the church, through 
her synods and councils, must interpret the Scriptures 
by prescribed formulas of faith. They recognized in 
human creeds the fruitful source of divisions in the 
church. They saw also that these creeds robbed the 
pulpit of its manhood, for frequently some of the 
clergy, in the council, had opposed certain formulas of 
doctrine as being unscriptural, but, having been out- 
voted, came home to preach for truth what they had 
said, in the council, was not true, and to ask the people 
to accept as truth what they themselves had opposed. 
Moreover, they recognized the utter absurdity of 
trying to settle what is truth by a vote. They saw, 
too, that Calvinists recognized Arminians as Christians, 
though they rejected Calvinism; and that Arminians 
recognized Calvinists as Christians, though they did 
not accept Arminianism. This was an admission that 
neither Calvinism nor Arminianism was necessary to 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 13 

constitute a Christian, and so of all other isms that 
were dividing Christ's disciples. It was also an ad- 
mission that it takes more to make a Calvinist or an 
Arminian than to make a Christian, and that that 
something more is the cause of division. 

3. They had accepted the plainest and simplest 
interpretation as the meaning of the Word. And 

4. They had resolved to follow where it might 
lead, no matter what cherished conviction or cherished 
practice they might be compelled to surrender. 

You may ask why they needed to emphasize the 
simple fact " that the plainest and simplest interpre- 
tation of the Bible is its meaning ? " In that day the 
methods of the clergy had succeeded in nothing so 
well as obscuring the meaning of God's Word, and 
creating the impression that it was all a mystery. 
There was little expository preaching. The minister 
took a text, many times without any reference to its 
context, and proceeded to " develop it." One of the 
great achievements of the preacher was to choose an 
obscure text and develop it into something very won- 
derful — such texts as " Jacob sod pottage," and 
'' They sewed fig leaves together." It was plain that 
this textuary preaching could never give the people a 
correct knowledge of the Scriptures. It was like a 
man trying to understand a mill by looking through a 
key hole. He sees wheels and bands in motion, and 
looks through another key hole and sees other w^heels 
and bands in motion, and shakes his head and calls it 
all a mystery. The miller suggests that there is more 
mystery in his method than there is in the mill, and, 



14 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

showing him the water pouring upon the great wheel 
and setting it in motion, and how this wheel, by a 
system of bands and wheels, all having .mechanical 
connection, puts into operation every part of the 
machinery, and how the wheat is carried to the 
rollers and ground into flour, the mystery gradually 
disappears. Of course he could not make a mill. 
There are many problems connected with its opera- 
tions which he never could solve, but largely the mys- 
tery has disappeared because he has studied the mill 
in the relation which one part sustains to another. 
I might throw upon this table every part of my watch, 
and I might deliver one hundred lectures upon the 
difierent things going to make up the watch, and yet 
give you little idea of a watch. Not until 1 tell you 
the relation of one wheel to another, and how all are 
adjusted to make a time-keeper, will you see a watch. 
Before this you have simply seen gold, and brass, and 
steel, and jewels, and springs. So the preacher may 
give a hundred instructive lectures, from as many texts 
of Scripture, without giving you any clear conception 
of the Bible. Not until he shows you the facts that 
combine to develop the great Scheme of Redemption; 
the Dispensations and Covenants, and the relation one 
sustains to another, "First the blade, then the ear, 
then the full corn in the ear"; — not until he shows 
when this particular Scripture was written, to whom 
it was written, of whom or what it was written, and 
why it was written, will you understand the lesson the 
Spirit meant to communicate. 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 15 

Along with this textuaiy preaching there was a 
good deal of confusion arising from the preacher's 
preconceived idea of what theology must be taught. 
The Calvinist said, "All truth must harmonize; the 
Bible is true; Calvinism is true; therefore, Calvinism 
and the Bible must harmonize." The Arminian and 
Universalist came to the same therefore by the same 
process. And when the obvious meaning of a passage 
seemed to agfree with the ism, the obvious meaning^ 
was accepted; but when the obvious meaning of the 
passage contradicted the ism, the speaker exercised 
his ingenuity to force an agreement. 

Everything partakes of the color of the medium 
through which we look. Seven men may honestly 
swear to the color of an object — one saying it is red, 
another it is green, another it is yellow, and so on, 
and the eighth man may be regarded as very pre- 
sumptions in saying they are all wrong, and that they 
will see the object, as he sees it, if they T\dll only take 
off their different colored glasses. The difficulty is to 
get rid of the theological glasses. Some have on 
Calvin's, some Wesley's, some Luther's; and if not 
these, their father's or grandfather's. Perhaps no one 
comes to the Bible entirely free from preconceived 
ideas as to what must be its meaning. We need to 
come, not with the question, what must it teach ? but 
with the question, what does it teach ? and with the 
prayer, " Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold 
wondrous things in Thy law." 

Along with this mysticism there was a good deal 
of " spiritualizing." For a good illustration of this 



16 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

method, take the parable of the Good Samaritan. 
This parable was given to answer the question, " Who 
is my neighbor ? " And from it we learn this practical 
lesson : That to be a neighbor to anyone, we must help 
him when he needs help, without asking the question 
whether he be friend or foe. This is a valuable lesson 
that has much to do with the salvation of souls, as 
well as the relief of suffering bodies. But one of 
these semi-inspired preachers developed it into a very 
marvelous theology : The man that fell among thieves 
was Adam; the fall was sin; the Levite was the Patri- 
archical age that had no mercy; the priest was the 
Jewish age, too selfish to help; the good Samaritan 
was Christ; pouring in oil and wine and binding up 
the wounds was the process of regeneration; taking, 
him to the inn was joining the church; taking care of 
him was pastoral care ; the two pennies were the old 
and new Testaments; and his coming to reward the 
host was the second coming of Christ to reward the 
faithful; and the people opened their eyes and ears in 
amazement that the preacher had found so much, 
where they had found simply an answer to the ques- 
tion, '' Who is my neighbor ? " The Campbells felt it 
their duty to call in question these methods of Biblical 
interpretation as being purely fanciful. We would 
not be allowed such freedom with any other book. 
Lamar, in substance, gives this good parallel illustra- 
tion from the battle of Waterloo : " This history has 
a mystical meaning; Napoleon means the devil; his 
army, the angels of darkness; Wellington means the 
Prince of Peace; his army, the angels of light. The 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 17 

battle was the conflict between the devil and his hosts 
on the one side, and the Prince of Peace and His hosts 
on the other. The defeat of Napoleon and his army 
was the defeat of the devil and his hosts, and the ban- 
ishment of Napoleon to the isle of St. Helena was the 
banishment of the devil to the bottomless pit. The 
literary world would laugh" at such a mystical inter- 
pretation of history. There are two very serious ob- 
jections to it : first, it is not true, and this is quite a 
sufficient objection to most things, and second, it is 
not authorized by any known law of interpretation." 

It is needless to say that the men who set out to 
be governed wholly by the Word of God, spent a good 
deal of thought and time upon the right meaning, and 
the right division of the Bible. Many of the older 
brethren trace their conversion to the oft-handled 
text, " Rightly dividing the Word of Truth ; " in the 
light, of which the Bible seemed to be a new book. 
Many skeptics, who, under the old style of spiritualiz- 
ing texts, had come to regard the Bible as an old 
fiddle, on which you could play any theological tune 
you pleased, had their doubts removed by the more 
reasonable method of interpretation adopted by the 
"Reformers," and rejoiced in Christ as their Savior. 
Hundreds of people, who could neither understand nor 
accept the speculative theologies of the time, came to 
see the beautiful simplicity of the Gospel, and were 
among the first to give themselves to Christ, and their 
hearty support to the new movement. 

There were those who felt, that, to set aside human 

creeds as bonds of fellowship was to " unsettle every- 
3 



18 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

thing and settle nothing." But these earnest men 
were not simply destructionists — they were construc- 
tionists, as well. Many a reformer's work has ended 
with pulling down. These men were able to build up. 
When sincere men inquired for a foundation, it was 
soon found in the words of Christ, " On this Eock I 
will build My church;" Matt, xvi, 16-17. And this 
brought to the front the distinctive principle of the 
reform. Evidently, "Jesus, the Christ the Son of the 
living God," is the Kock on which the Church of 
Christ must be built; and how can we build on Christ 
except by faith in Him ? The distinctive principle 
was this : The faith that saves is a personal trust in a 
personal Redeemer. The negative statement was 
this : The faith that saves is not faith in Calvinism^ 
in Arminianism^ nor even in true theology^ much less in 
speculative theology. Mr. Campbell said, "No man 
can be saved by the belief of any theory, true or false. 
No man will be damned for the disbelief of any 
theory. This position I hold worthy to be printed in 
majestic capitals." 

You will see how such a statement would create a 
stir among those who had long believed that theolog- 
ical isms were necessary to church membership, and 
necessary to entrance into heaven, as well. Not what 
you believe, but in whom do you believe ? Christ had 
said, " You believe in God, believe also in me." The 
saving faith must center in Christ as a personal 
Savior. The confession of Peter, "Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God," is the one funda- 
mental article of faith for the Church of Christ. 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 19 

Hence the apostles preached Christ. Not one of 
their sermons set forth the dogmas that may be found 
in human creeds. When Phihp preached to the 
Ethiopian he began at a certain text and " preached 
unto him Jesus." He doubtless proved that He was 
the long-looked-for Messiah — the Prophet, the Priest, 
the King — the one Savior of men, with all authority 
in Heaven and on Earth ; and, when the anxious in- 
quirer believed in Him with all his heart, he was bap- 
tized forthwith. There is no record that any of the 
candidates for baptism in apostolic days were required 
to narrate an " experience," or to give assent to the 
truth of dogmatic theology, or to say that they were 
conscious that God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven 
their sins. Alexander Campbell had given prom- 
inence to this fact when he stipulated with the minister 
that he must be baptized simply upon his profession 
of faith in Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. 

This confession is fall of meaning. Jesus is the 
Christ — the Annointed — the Prophet, the Priest, the 
King. He is my Teacher, and I will sit at His feet and 
learn His lessons; my Priest, and I will bring my sins 
to God through Him for atonement and reconciliation, 
whether I understand the philosophy of the atone- 
ment or not; my King, and I will put my neck under 
His yoke, and be always submissive to His will; He 
is the Son of God, and therefore the infallible Teacher, 
the infallible Priest, the infallible King, and I will give 
myself to Him as my Savior, without reserve, and wor- 
ship and adore Him while I serve Him. There is more 
in this simple truth, having to do with duty and destiny. 



20 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

than in all the human creeds you can string between 
here and the planet Jupiter. And while it is great 
enough for the king, and deep enough for the phil- 
osopher, it is also simple enough for the little child. 
Christ said, " Go preach the Gospel to every creature." 
Surely, it must have been a simple Gospel. The 
ignorant as well as the learned, the little child, as well 
as the adult, can make this simple confession of faith 
in Jesus. And do you think it is reasonable that Christ 
intended that a little child should be made to answer 
questions touching " total hereditary depravity," and 
" eternal election," and " eternal decrees," before 
being admitted to baptism ? 

Moreover, it was the departure from this one 
foundation — the foundation of which Paul speaks : 
"For other foundation can no man lay than that is 
laid, which is Jesus the Christ " — that has created all 
the divisions in the Christian world. For illustration, 
suppose Mr. A. comes to the conclusion that faith in 
Jesus is not sufficient, because he thinks it is very im- 
portant that the candidate for baptism should also be- 
lieve that Jesus was born on the 25th day of December. 
So, after ascertaining that he believes in Jesus, the 
Christ, the Son of God, he asks him whether he believes 
that Jesus was born on the 26th of December, and upon 
his affirmative answer, baptizes him. Mr. B. calls this 
in question. He calls it heterodoxy. He,believes the 
birthday of Christ was on the 6th day of January, and, 
regarding it as important, he puts the two questions : 
Do you believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God ? 
and do you believe He was born on the 6th day of 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. ' 21 

January i These two candidates stand with one foot 
on common ground, but the other upon the diftering 
suppositions touching the time of Christ's birth. 
After long and heated discussions, A and B give most 
of their attention to the differences, until there comes 
a division. You smile at the absurdity of division on 
such grounds, and yet this very question was once a 
bone of contention ; and how much less important is 
this question than many of the questions w^hich are 
dividing the church today ? And these questions 
were sprung and discussed and added, one by one, to 
the " one foundation," until we have the hundreds of 
sects of the present day. We have made it a prom- 
inent plea that union is practicable only as we cast 
away these human additions to the old creed, and 
build again upon " the foundation of apostles and 
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner 
stone." 

We are glad to note the fact that churches every- 
where are now receiving people to fellowship without 
accepting their old formulas of faith ; but there Avas 
not a church in Christendom, in the beginning of this 
century, that would receive a person to the fellowship 
of the church, simply upon his faith in Christ, love for 
Christ, and willingness to serve Christ. 

Proceeding farther along the old paths they 
found that not only did the apostles preach Christ 
with a view to creating faith in Christ, but they went 
upon the theory that the sinner could hear and believe 
the word of God, and be led by it to believe in Christ 
and trust implicitly the promise of God. Nowhere 



22 • SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

was there an indix;ation that the apostles believed that 
man was so dead in trespasses and sins " that he could 
not think a good thought nor do a good deed," and 
that he was powerless to hear, understand or obey, 
only as the Holy Spirit quickened him to spiritual life, 
as the power of God quickened Lazarus to natural life. 
This was the prevailing anthropology in Campbell's day, 
and the theology was made to suit it. Hence they 
preached the Spirit and promised Christ. The Kef orm- 
ers soon learned that the apostles preached Christ, and 
promised the Spirit to those who would obey him. 

The first sermon preached by Peter, under the 
Commission, was full of Christ — in the prophecies, in 
the flesh, in a wonderful life, on the cross, in the 
grave, on the throne. When the people " heard this 
they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter 
and the rest of the apostles, ' Men and brethren, what 
shall we do r "—Acts ii: 37, 38. 

This was the result of the convincing and con- 
victing preaching of the apostles, to whom Christ had 
said, " the Comforter, even the Spirit of truth, will I 
send unto you ; and when He is come unto you. He 
will convince the world of sin and of righteousness 
and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on 
me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, 
'^ ^ and of judgment because the prince of this 
world is judged." The Holy Spirit spake by the 
mouth of Peter; the people heard and ^' were pricked 
in their heart." No one was left a moment in doubt 
as to the conditions of the New Covenant : ^' Repent 
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of 



> SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 23 

Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." This was the 
Divine answer to the question, "What shall we do?" 
It is no less the Divine answer today. It goes upon 
the theory that the anxious inquirer can trust implicitly 
the written promise of God. In a single day three 
thousand trusted Christ, accepted gladly the promise 
of salvation, and were baptized. 

When this simple fact was uncovered it was like 
a new revelation. Not that it had not been accepted 
as an abstract truth, but it had been lost sight of. 
People were taught to look everywhere else, except 
in the word of God, for evidence of acceptance with 
God. Some trusted in dreams, others saw lights, 
others heard voices, all scrutinized the changing im- 
pulses and fitful feelings of their own poor trembling 
hearts ; none of them looked into God's word to learn 
the way of Christ, as revealed in the Gospel. These 
Reformers cried out in the language of Jeremiah, 
"Let him that hath a dream, tell a dream; but he 
that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. 
What is the chafi* to the wheat, saith the Lord ? " 
This was a startling thing to say in a time when it was 
" generally conceived to be the great and chief work 
of the Holy Spirit to create the soul anew by an over- 
whelming power, wholly apart from the influence of 
the word of God, which, like the sinner himself, was 
supposed to be ' dead,' until specially applied and 
made effective by the Spirit." Every conversion was 
attributed to " the direct and irresistable power of the 
Holy Spirit." 



24 • SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

It will not appear strange that Mr. Campbell and 
his co-laborers were charged with " denying the neces- 
sity of being born again by the Spirit of God ; " with 
" confining all grace to the apostolic age," and with 
being " enemies to heart religion," for the people 
looked at the Scriptures only through their theological 
systems, and were convinced, by years of such theo- 
logical teaching, that these dreams and imaginary 
lights and voices and feelings were, in every case, the 
work of the Holy Spirit; nor could they see how it 
was possible for the simple Gospel to affect the heart 
of sinful man. This led to a careful study of the 
Word, touching the work of the Spirit, not to create a 
concensus of sentiment on the subject, but to be able 
to correct extravagant notions which prevailed then, 
but which have since largely disappeared. 

The " Disciples " have been content " to speak 
where the Bible speaks, and to be silent where the 
Bible is silent " on this subject. No thoughtful man 
can separate between God and the Spirit of God, any 
more than he can separate between man and the 
spirit of man. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of 
Wisdom, and as such has revealed the Truth; He is 
the Spirit of Power, and as such has confirmed the 
Truth; He is the Spirit of Holiness, and as such dwells 
in the hearts of those who believe and obey the Truth. 
And while no man knows the limit of His influence in 
conversion, sanctification and providence, of one thing 
we are sure, the Spirit will never tell a man that he is 
a child of God^ when the Gospel tells him he is not; for 
God can never contradict Himself. ' 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 25 

Nor will it appear strange that these men were 
charged T\dth "baptismal regeneration," when they 
gave the old path answer to anxious inquirers, " Repent 
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of 
Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." These Reformers, 
having set out to " seek the old paths," could not do 
otherwise than give this answer. Old as it was, it was 
an innovation in the practice of evangelists. This 
doctrine was in nearly all the denominational creeds, 
but it was unregarded and unheeded in its import and 
utility. A great excitement at once ensued. " The 
people were filled with the notion that some special 
spiritual influence was to be exerted upon men's 
hearts — that some spiritual visitation must occur 
before any one could be a fit subject for baptism; 
that this spiritual operation was evidence of acceptance 
and pardon " — and hence, when sinners were invited 
to accept the written promise of the word of God in 
" baptism for the remission of sins," they were filled 
with amazement, that anyone should set aside the 
usual process to which "mourners" were subjected. 
The answer to this charge was easy, but the people 
were in no mood to calmly consider it. " To the law 
and testimony," "What God has joined together, let 
no man put asunder." God had joined together 
repentance and baptism " for the remission of sins." 
Jesus Christ had said, " He that believeth and is bap- 
tized, shall be saved" or forgiven; He had not said, 
" He that believeth and is saved, shall be baptized." 
Moreover, there was involved a greater question than 



26 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

"Is baptism for remission of sins, viz: 'Is God faith- 
ful to fulfill His promises ? ' " 

They sought to restore the " ancient order of 
things" in doctrine and practice. Jesus Christ had 
called the church " my church," and his disciples were 
called " Christians," and so they chose "The Church 
of Christ" as the true name of the church, and 
" Christian Church " as a convenient expression of the 
same thing; and, forthwith, they were charged with 
exclusiveness and denying that there were Christians 
in other religious bodies. But when you remember 
that they set out to walk in the old paths, they could 
not consistently take any other name. And when you 
remember that Christ is the Head of the Church, no 
other name honors the Head. Besides, no other name 
is acceptable to all religious bodies, and therefore 
there can be union only in this name. They sought 
common ground, provided it is Scriptural, because 
they kept the eye steadily toward Christian unity. 
Immersion is Scriptural, and universally conceded, 
and therefore common ground; adult baptism is 
Scriptural, and everywhere practiced, and therefore 
common ground; the Bible, as a rule of faith and 
practice, is everywhere received, and therefore com- 
mon ground; and so on to the end. The Reformers 
sought to occupy admitted ground, and therefore a 
practical ground of unity. They sought to bring 
everything to the test of " Thus saith the Lord, in pre- 
cept or approved precedent," and were not surprised 
that this planted them on common union ground. 
Opposition grew out of their refusal to go beyond 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 27 

this common ground, and accept the theories and 
speculations of men. They looked upon a Christian 
as one who believes in and loves Christ with all his 
heart, and obeys Him with all his will, and in such 
manner that there could be no question about it. 
They sought to make Christians only^ but did not 
claim to be the only Christians. They sought to 
organize the church by the New Testament model, 
and to conduct the worship, including the Lord's 
Supper every Lord's Day, according to the " ancient 
order of things." In a word^ they plead for the union 
of God'^s people hy the restoration of the primitive 
churchy in doctrine and practice. 

They did not claim infallibility in these earnest 
efforts to walk in the old paths. They did not claim 
that they were righteous above others, nor that there 
were not Christians in other communions; nor that 
they had learned all the lessons in the blessed Book. 
They had thrown out the line to the Bible as a vessel 
might to a tug boat, and were ready and willing to 
move any time and anywhere the Bible led them. 
The religious parties of the day had made anchors of 
their human creeds, and therefore remained steadily 
in the same waters until the clergy thought it wise to 
lift these anchors and move into less troubled seas. 
With the one there was infinite room for freedom and 
growth; with the other there was little room for fi'ee- 
dom of thought and investigation, and consequently 
little growth in Divine things. 

You will remember that Blaine, in his splendid 
eulogy upon the life and character of the lamented 



28 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

Garfield, who was, from his youth, a member of the 
Church of Christ, said " Garfield had outgrown his 
church." Blaine did not understand the church to 
which Garfield belonged. Blaine knew little of the 
church which has but one article of faith. Garfield 
belonged to a church which admitted him to member- 
ship upon the " good confession " that ^' Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of the Living God." This was the 
bond of fellowship, and the anchor for his soul. 
Beyond this, he was free to survey all lengths and 
breadths of religious thought, to go up into all heights 
and down into all depths of religious knowledge, and 
express himself with absolute freedom, when, and 
how, and where he pleased; and because he did this, 
so contrary to the practice of those who were bound 
and handicapped by scholastic theology, as found in 
sectarian creeds, Blaine thought Garfield had outgrown 
his church, while this is indeed the very genius of 
the church to which Garfield had given his heart and 
his hand. 

Such a movement was exposed to certain dangers: 
1. Controversy is not conducive to piety. The 
Campbells were at first opposed to all controversy. 
It was not until the debates with Walker and McCaila 
that Alexander Campbell saw, in public discussions, a 
means of getting before the people the questions 
which were dear to his heart. And reviewing their 
discussions from this distance, we can see how great 
their influence in bringing the minds of the people to 
the consideration of his plea for the union of Christians. 
Mr, Campbell was an acknowledged dialectician, and 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 29 

his successful championship of Protestantism against 
Roman Catholicism, of Christianity against infidelity, 
and of primitive Christianity against sectarianism, will 
be more and more recognized as the years go by. 
His was a masterly mind, and he conducted his 
debates with a masterly hand, and in them he never 
stooped below the plain of Christian manhood. This 
much can not be said of every other debater. The 
assault upon the " Campbellites " was fierce and 
furious all along the line, and all the more so when 
the simple plea of the Gospel won "proselytes" from 
the ranks of sectarianism. When the church at Brush 
Run became a society of immersed believers, nearly 
all of whom had been members of Paedobaptist 
churches, it cut itself off at once from all Paedobaptist 
sympathy ; and when, in after years, there grew up a 
bitter contention in Baptist churches on account of 
the teaching of the Reformers, they were alienated 
from Baptist sympathy. Besides, " the power of the 
clergy was, at this time, almost supreme, and those 
who questioned it were put under the ban of religious 
society, being regarded as disorganizers, and even 
treated as outlaws in the spiritual Kingdom." Mis- 
representations of all kinds were circulated, friend- 
ships were broken off, and in many cases foes were 
raised up in a man's own household. The sectarian 
pulpits thundered against them w^herever they sought 
a foothold, and the clergy, in many instances, were 
utterly unscrupulous in their sayings and doings, to 
circumvent success. Every adhe.rent of the new 
movement went armed with the New Testament and 



30 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

was ready, always, to give a " reason for the hope that 
was in Him." Challenges for public discussions were 
often given and nearly always accepted, and not un- 
frequently the spirit of controversy drove out the 
spirit of Christ. On the whole, the necessary ordeal 
was passed better than could have been expected. 

2. Those who dwell often and long upon the 
deformities of a religious body are apt to shut their 
eyes to the good that is in them. They come, after 
while, to see nothing but deformities. In many 
quarters it came to be taken for granted that there 
was no good whatever in a sectarian church, and 
therefore it was unsafe to say or do anything after the 
manner of the sects. This was not the true spirit of 
the plea. Thomas Campbell began his work of union 
because he believed there were Christians in all the 
churches, and he and his illustrious son recognized 
good wherever they saw good, and had fellowship with 
all that was true and honest and just and lovely and 
pure, wherever found, and 1 am glad to see our breth- 
ren touch elbows with good people of whatever name, 
in every good word and work. 

3. There was danger of crystalizing, notwith- 
standing the freedom that was gained. Several years 
ago one of our editors printed portions of Mr. Camp- 
bell's writings to show up the " heresy " of some 
of his brethren touching missionary societies. He 
forgot that Mr. Campbell put upon the cover of 
his Journal, these mottos : "Style no man on earth 
your father, for He alone is your father which is in 
Heaven; " "Assume not the title of Rabbi, for ye have 



SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 31 

only one Teacher; neither assume the title of Leader, 
for ye have only one Leader — the Messiah;" "Prove 
all things, hold fast that which is good." The disciples 
of Christ are learners at the feet of no man^ living 
or dead. 

4. There was danger of an unwritten creed. 
As between a written and an un\\T:"itten creed, I prefer 
a written one, for then there is some chance to know 
what it means. We have had preachers who impressed 
the people that the acceptance of what is called 
" our views " is necessary to church membership. 
What is this that is called " our views," if it is not an 
unwritten creed ? We do not baptize people because 
they have come to accept our views. We do 
not baptize people because they have come to see 
that baptism is "for remission of sins." We teach 
this because it is Scriptural, and we believe the 
candidate will be the happier, in obedience, if he 
comes to baptism knowing its import, but we do 
not put two questions: "Do ye believe in Jesus, 
the Christ, the Son of God ? " and " Do ye believe 
baptism is for remission of sins ? " No, we baptize 
the candidate because he believes in Jesus, and on 
no other ground. 

We have preachers who argue so fervently 
that the Holy Spirit operates only through the 
Word, that people go away believing this doctrine to 
be a sort of creed. We have others who would, if 
they dared, disfellowship those who differ from them 
on mere matters of expediency. To go beyond the 
one question touching the faith of the candidate in 



32 SEEKING THE OLD PATHS. 

Jesus, as his Teacher, Priest and King — the Son of 
the living God, is so far to set up an unwritten creed; 
and when it embraces questions of expediency, it out- 
sectarianizes all sectarianism. 

5. There is danger that we may neglect to walk 
in the old paths after we have sought and found them. 
Christianity is not a theory, but a life. The old path 
life was a life of love, of prayer, of consecration, of 
missionary enthusiasm, and missionary service and 
conquest. The old path life counted no sacrifice to 
dear to make for Jesus' sake. Not until our ten 
hundred thousand brethren come forward with larger 
offerings for missions at home and abroad, and multiply 
our missionaries a hundred fold, will we feel that we 
are enthused with the spirit, and marching with the 
tread of the apostolic days. Not until we are lifted 
out of selfishness into love, and up into Christhkeness, 
and filled with the spirit of Christ, will there flow from 
us rivers of blessing for the world. We rejoice that 
our labors for Christian union have not been in vain, 
as seen in the loosing of clerical fetters, the breaking 
down of sectarian walls, the union of Christian people 
in Christian endeavor, the preaching of Christ instead 
of dogmas, and the growing desire to unite all the 
lovers of Christ in a mighty effort to bring Christ to 
all the world, and all the world to Christ. Surely the 
prayer of Jesus will soon be ansAvered: "That they all 
may be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in 
Thee, that they may also be one in us, that the world 
may believe that Thou hast sent me." This is the good 
way wherein God's people may find rest for their souls. 



THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 



"Understandest thou what thou readest." — Acts viii:30. 

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that 
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." 
— II Timothy, ii:i5. 

nHERE are those who regard the Bible as a great 
mystery. Paul says, "Great is the mystery of god- 
liness." But what is a mystery? Amystery is a secret, 
and a secret may be told ; and after a secret has been 
told, we say "the secret is out." There are those 
in this audience, who have been initiated into the 
secrets of Free Masonry; and though they know all 
about these secrets, they still speak of the "secrets of 
Free Masonry." Paul speaks in the same way when 
he says, (Rom. xvi : 25, 26) "Now, to him that is of 
power to establish you according to my gospel, and 
the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revela- 
tion of the mystery, which was kept secret since the 
world began, but now is made manifest, and by the 
Scriptures of the prophets, according to the com- 
mandment of the everlasting God, made known to all 
nations for the obedience of faith." Notice the past 
tense, "was kept secret;" but now "revealed," "made 
manifest," "made known," in the gospel of Christ, 
"for the obedience of faith." It was the same mystery 
to which Peter refers when he says (I Peter i : 10, 12), 
"Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and 



34 THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 

searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that 
should come unto you; searching what, or what man- 
ner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them 
did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufierings 
of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto 
whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but 
unto us they did minister the things which are now 
reported unto you by them that have preached the 
gospel unto you, with the Holy Spirit sent down from 
heaven: which things the angels desire to look into." 
And, again, Paul says (Eph. iii : 1-9), "For this cause, 
I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles, 
if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of 
God which is given me to you-ward: How that by 
revelation he made known to me the mystery (as I 
wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye 
may understand my knowledge in the mystery of 
Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto 
the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy 
apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles 
should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and 
partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel, 
whereof I was made a minister ^ "^ that I should 
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of 
Christ: and make all men see what is the fellowship 
of the mystery, which, from the beginning of the 
world, hath been hid in God, who created all things 
by Jesus Christ." We see by these scriptures that 
the prophets did not fully understand the nature of 
Christ's kingdom; that "the sufferings of Christ and 
the glory that should follow;" that the broad philan- 



THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 35 

thropy of the gospel, taking in the Gentiles to be 
"fellow heirs," were great mysteries to prophets 
and angels alike. And wisely was it so, for had they 
known, they would not have crucified the Lord of 
Glory. The Christian religion was not born of the 
Jewish conception of God's love. Christ is himself 
the "author and the finisher of the faith." "The 
world by wisdom knew not God." "Christ crucified 
was a stumbling block unto the Jew, and foolishness 
unto the Greek." Faith was to stand "not in the 
wisdom of men but in the power of God." 

The inspired Scripture "is profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in right- 
eousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thor- 
oughly furnished unto all good works." It is a revela- 
tion. A revelation that needs to be revealed is not a 
revelation. We do not mean that we can sound all 
its depths, or ascend unto all its heights; for if we 
could we would be ready to call it human. The 
finite mind can not fully comprehend the infinite 
mind of God. Peter says that in Paul's epistles "are 
some things hard to be understood, which they that 
are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do the other 
scriptures, unto their own destruction." But while 
this is true, the way of salvation is so clear that the 
wayfaring man though a fool "shall not err therein." 

In another discourse^ we have shown how the 
pulpit has made the impression that the Word of God 
is a mystery. Ministers have treated the Bible as 
though it were simply a book of proverbs, and have 

*See Seeking the Old Paths. 



36 THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 

come to the study of it with the question, what must 
it teach ? rather than the question what does it teach ? 
Having made up their minds as to what it must teach, 
they have exercised their ingenuity to force an agree- 
ment between seemingly conflicting passages. They 
have read into the text what was not there, and they 
have " spiritualized " the meaning, and made it mean 
most fanciful things. 

Timothy was exhorted to "study to show himself a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly divid- 
ing the word of truth." The Word is susceptible of 
divisions or portions. It must be handled skillfully, so 
that every portion shall be applied to its intended 
use. There is "milk" for babes, and "strong meat" 
for men; there are portions for children, young men, 
and fathers; for masters, servants, citizens, husbands, 
wives, rulers and ministers. There are messages of 
"times past," and of the "last days;" messages for 
saints and for sinners. There are dispensations for 
Patriarchs, for Jews and for Christians. There are 
covenants, temporal and spiritual — covenants "old" 
that vanished away, and the new covenant that "yet 
remaineth." There are fingers of prophecy pointing 
forward, and fingers of history pointing backward. 
There are types and shadows of things to come; the 
hand of God in Providence, heroic history, and songs 
of triumph and praise. 

The Ethiopian nobleman had been to Jerusalem 
to worship the God of his fathers. He had mingled 
with the best people. Ho had found the whole city 
stirred up about one Jesus of Nazareth. Such men 



THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 37 

as Joseph and Nicodemus had expressed a conviction 
that he was a "teacher come from God," for no man 
could do these miracles "except God be with him." 
Others had told him of his marvelous career; how he 
raised the dead, cast out demons, healed the sick, fed 
the multitudes, and spoke as one having authority and 
not as the scribes; of the lonor darkness at the cruci- 
fixion — the rent rocks and the rent veil; and of the 
convictions of thousands that he had risen from the 
dead. Others had told him of the wisdom of the 
Sanhedrim as judges; of the verdict that he was guilty 
of blasphemy and treason, and that he surely was an 
impostor, whose influence was even then leading thous- 
ands astray. What more natural than that he should 
turn to the holy Scriptures? When Philip found him 
he was reading one of those wonderful prophecies 
which had found its fulfillment in the life, death and 
resurrection of Jesus. "Understandest thou what 
thou readest?" "How can I except some man should 
guide me. Of whom speaketh the prophet this: of 
himself or of some other man ?" To him the passage 
would be clear if he could determine "of whom it was 
written." If Isaiah wrote it of himself, of course it 
could not apply to Jesus as the friends of Jesus 
claimed. If he wrote it "of som^ other man," then 
there is a wonderful counterpart of it in the history 
of Jesus. He was anxious to know. He had a teach- 
able mind. "Come up and sit with me," and Philip 
"began at the same Scripture and preached unto him 
Jesus," and, like his Master, showed him how all 
things written in the law of Moses, and in the Psalms, 



38 THE KEVEALED MYSTERY. 

and in the prophets, concerning the Christ, were ful- 
filled in Jesus. 

Now if we would understand any passage of the 
Scripture we must ask who wrote it ? of whom or what 
was it written ? when was it written ? and why was it 
written ? and of the Bible as a whole, we must deter- 
mine what its chief subject is. It is not a treatise on 
geology, or zoology, or botany. It is not a treatise 
on law or medicine. And yet, fairly interpreted, it 
does not contradict the most advanced discoveries of 
science, or the recognized laws of civil jurisprudence. 
It is not, in any large sense, a book of history, though 
it contains the oldest history, and answers, as no other 
book does, whence am I ? what am I ? and whither do 
I go ? It gives quite a full history of Abraham and 
his descendants, and gives the cue to the history of 
other peoples, as theirs touches the history of Israel. 
Were I to study science, law, medicine or history, I 
would not turn to the Bible. Skeptics might have 
saved themselves a good deal of shame, if they had 
remembered this fact. 

The Bible has one main thought, one chief sub- 
ject: The Hedemption of a sinful world through 
Jesus Christy our LordP It begins with an Eden lost, 
and closes with better Eden restored. Jesus is the 
golden thread running through it from lid to lid. He 
is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the 
beginning and the end. Everything else in the Bible 
touches this central purpose, immediately or remotely; 
and in the light of this fact the Bible must be under- 
stood. Moreover, the pupil must come to it with an 



THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 39 

honest heart and a teachable mind, and with the 
prayer, "Open thou mine eyes that I may behold 
wondrons things in thy law." 

Turning now to the fall of man, we find that God 
does not leave him without hope. The great enemy 
of God and man had prevailed; but to him God said, 
"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and 
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy 
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." This is the 
first promise concerning Christ, and indicates a con- 
flict that would end in the destruction of the devil and 
his works. Passing now over nearly two thousand 
years of history, illustrating the awful ruin that sin 
works, and the certain and fearful judgment of God 
on account of it, — we come to the double covenant 
made with Abraham (Gen. xii). 

1. Temporal. — "I will make of thee a great 
nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name 
great; and thou shalt be a blessing, and 1 will bless 
them that bless thee, and curse him that cursest thee." 

2. Spiritual. — "Andinthee(inthy seedCh.xxii:18) 
shall all th-e families of the earth be blessed." Having 
promised deliverance and restoration through the 
seed of the woman^ God now makes choice of Abraham 
as the one through whom this seed should come. 
Paul says this seed was Christ: "He saith not 'And 
to seeds' as of many, but as of one 'And to thy seed' 
which is Christ" (Gal. iii:16). This was the gospel in 
promise preached to Abraham. " And the Scripture, 
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through 
faith, preached before, the gospel unto Abraham, say- 



40 THE REVEALED MYSTERY, 

ing, 'In thee shall all nations be blessed;' so then 
they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abra- 
ham/' This promise was renewed to Isaac and to 
Jacob. The descendants of Jacob were called Israel 
— and Israel in the flesh was a type of spiritual 
Israel, the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus 
(Gal. iii). When Jacob's descendants became a 
"great nation," God made a national covenant with 
them at Horeb. This was "the law," which was four 
hundred and thirty years after the promise made to 
Abraham. This "law" is called by Paul the "old 
covenant," — and by Jeremiah "the covenant which 
God made with the house of Israel when he took them 
by the hand to lead them out of Egypt." 

If the promise to Abraham is to be fulfilled in 
bringing Christ into the world as the "seed" of Israel, 
then must God take care that the children of Israel 
be preserved. God put a mark in the flesh, circum- 
cision, — a national badge; he gave Israel a land; he 
divided it among the tribes, — for he had said, "The 
scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a law giver 
from between his feet, till Shiloh come," — and these 
tribes must not get into confusion; he gave to Israel a 
government — a theocracy — laws civil and ecclesiastic, 
moral and positive. Moses calls it "the covenant" 
which "the Lord our God made with us in Horeb." 
(Deut. v:2, 3.) God blessed Israel in basket and in 
store; he punished them for their sin and disobedi- 
ence by captivities; but took care that the children of 
Judah were restored to the land, and preserved until 
the coming of the Messiah. When Israel became a 



THE KEVEALED MYSTERY. 41 

Kingdom, David was sino^led out as the one whose 
seed should be the royal Messiah: "I have made a 
covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David, 
my servant, 'Thy seed will I establish forever and 
build up thy throne to all generations.'" ''I will set 
up thy seed after thee * * and I will establish his 
kingdom * * and will establish the throne of his 
kingdom forever." Peter said, on the day of Pente- 
cost, that "David, being a prophet, and knowing that 
God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit 
of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up 
Christ to sit on his throne: he, seeing this before, 
spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was 
not left in hades, neither his flesh did see corruption." 
This same David said by the same prophetic vision: 
"Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchi- 
zedek;" and Zechariah said "He shall sit and rule upon 
his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne" 
(Zech. 1:13). 

You can see how the reader of the Old Testa- 
ment never loses sight of the promise made to our 
first mother and to Abraham, the father of the faithful. 
The Redeemer was to be the "seed of the woman," 
the "seed of Abraham," the "seed of Isaac," and at 
once the children of Abraham by Hagar and Keturah 
drop out of sight; the "seed of Jacob," and at once 
the children of Esau become as the surrounding 
nations; the "shiloh of Judah," and in time nearly all 
the other tribes are lost in captivity; the "successor 
of David," and he becomes the type of Christ, and 
his throne ml type of the throne of which Zechariah 



42 • THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 

speaks, when .he says of the Messiah: "He shall be 
a priest upon his throne" — a king after the order of 
David, a priest after the order of Melchizedek, — to 
whom Abraham paid tithes — King of Salem and 
Priest of the Most High God. 

The Jewish law and nation were only instruments 
for opening up the way for the coming Kedeemer. 
All through the administration of the "old covenant," 
there were prophecies and types and symbols pointing 
to Christ; — prophecies that he would be born of a 
virgin; that he would be born in Bethlehem; that he 
would be "called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, 
Prince of Peace, The Everlasting Father;" — that "the 
government shall be on his * shoulder" — that of "the 
increase of his government and peace there shall be 
no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his king- 
dom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and 
with justice from henceforth even forever;" and types 
of the Sacrifice of Christ, of the Priesthood of Christ, 
of the Atonement of Christ: types of the world, the 
church and Heaven: typical men, typical events, typi- 
cal history; all creating a general expectancy of his 
coming, and of the triumphs of his reign. 

Coming now to the New Testament we find a 
genealogical table proving that Jesus was the seed of 
David, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham; — that he was 
the "seed of the woman," in a miraculous sense; — that 
he was born of a virgin; — that he was born in Beth- 
lehem; that he was declared to be the Son of the 
Highest, — God with us, — that he met the great enemy 
of man, and illustrated his power to defeat him; that 



THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 43 

his life was in every way Wonderful — in his birth, in 
his baptism, in his miracles, in his teaching, in his 
sufferings, in his death, in his burial and resurrection, 
in his great purpose to set up a kingdom, and bring 
the whole world to his feet. These things "are writ- 
ten that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of God, and that believing you might have 
life through his name" (John xx:31). 

Proceeding further we find, in the Acts, the 
proclamation that he is King, and that God had said, 
"sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy 
footstool;" and immediately his reign of conquest and 
peace began. Turning to the Epistles, we learn how 
the disciples were taught to observe all things what- 
soever Christ had commanded. 

We have now passed through two Dispensations 
and into the third, viz: 1. The Patriarchal, reaching 
from the fall of man to the givino: of the law. 2. The 
Jewish or Mosaic, reaching from the giving of the 
law to the death of the Messiah. 3. The Christian, 
which began at the resurrection and exaltation of the 
Messiah. The first had to do with the family, the 
second with the state, the third with the church. 
The first was domestic, the second national, the third 
universal. Each Dispensation has its peculiar priest- 
hood, — that of Melchizedek, that of Aaron, and that of 
Jesus the Messiah, — and under each there is found a 
different economy of things. "It is a standing maxim 
in religion that the priesthood being changed, there is, 
of necessity, a change of the law pertaining to acceptable 
worship" (Heb. ix). Before we can feel any confidence 



44 THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 

in our interpretation of any law, commandment or insti- 
tution of religion, we must decide as to which dispen- 
sation it belonged. We are not under Moses but under 
Christ. Christ has "all authority in heaven and on 
earth," and is our Lawgiver, our King, our Judge. Jesus 
is the Christy — the one anointed Prophet, Priest and 
King. On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter would 
have honored Moses and Elijah alike with Jesus — but 
"a cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice out 
of the cloud, which said. This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased, hear you himP Christ is 
King, on David's spiritual throne, ruling over those 
who are the children of Abraham by faith in Jesus. 
Christ is Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 
Christ is Teacher, superseding all other teachers. He 
fulfilled the law — every jot and title — and "took it 
out of the way, nailing it to the cross," and "blotted 
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against 
us" (Col. ii:14) and "abolished in his flesh the enmity, 
even the law of commandments contained in the ordi- 
nances" — and so "broke down the middle wall of 
partition" between Jew and Gentile "for to make of 
the twain one new man, so making peace," (Eph. ii: 
14, 15). At the first Pentecost — fifty days after the 
first Passover — the old covenant was given at Horeb. 
Christ was himself the anti-type of the Paschal 
lamb. Fifty days after he had offered himself — 
the last and the most memorable Pentecost — he 
caused the new covenant to be announced at Jeru- 
salem. Jeremiah said it would not be like the old 
covenant. The old covenant was written on "tables 



THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 45 

of stone:"" — the new on "the fleshy tables of the 
heart." The children of the old covenant were such 
because they were born of the flesh of Abraham; the 
children of the new are "not born of blood, nor of the 
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" 
(John i :13). The children of the old covenant were pun- 
ished without mercy for sin and transgression; to the 
children of the new, God says, "I will be merciful to 
your unrighteousness. I will forgive your iniquities." 
For the children of the old there was no full expiation, 
for "the blood of bulls and goats could not take away 
sin;" but under the new covenant God says, "I will 
remember your sins no more." The old covenant 
served as the "blade and the ear" — but the new is the 
"full corn in the ear." The old covenant having 
served its purpose "vanished away." "The law made 
nothing perfect, but the bringing in of the better hope 
did; by the which we draw nigh unto God." No person 
can understand the Scriptures who does not separate 
clearly one dispensation from another; nor will he 
succeed if he looks upon one covenant as a sort of 
annex to the preceding. When Christ gave his com- 
mission, based upon "All authority in heaven and in 
earth," he cut the world loose from all previous 
authority and law, and bade us sit at his feet as our 
only Teacher, submit to him as our only King, and 
rejoice in him as our only mediator — the ever-living 
High Priest, "able to save to the uttermost those who 
come unto God by him." 

Now, suppose an intelligent Japanese comes to 
me. He has never read our sacred literature, and 



46 THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 

says he wants to read it. I hand him the thirty-nine 
books of the Old Testament, bound in one volume, and 
tell him to take these home and read them. He 
comes back, after several months of careful reading, 
and says he has read these several books. What do 
you think he v^ould most likely say of them? He 
could say, "I find in them what purports to be the 
oldest history, going back to the very creation, and 
quite a full history of one family and nation." He 
could say, "I find, in these histories, some of the best 
and some of the worst men." He could say that 
"Moses' law is the foundation of all our jurispru- 
dence." He could say, "I find remarkable prophecies; 
and history records no less remarkable fulfillment." 
He could say, "I find poetry that would rival the 
best passages of your Milton and Shakespeare." But 
I do not think these would strike him with the 
greatest force. He would say, "That book is a very 
disappointing book." "Why so ?" I inquire. "Be- 
cause it kept me in constant expectation of some one 
who was to come for the betterment of these people 
and the world. The law seems to be a failure as a 
means of making people good, and your God's pun- 
ishments made little improvement in their morals. 
In the beginning it was the "seed of the woman" that 
was to destroy the enemy; then it was the "se6d of 
Abraham" that was to bless the world; — later it was 
the successor of David who would set up a better 
government; and then he was to be Wonderful, 
Mighty God, Prince of Peace, and his kingdom was 
to last forever, and smite all other kingdoms, and fill 



THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 47 

the whole earth; and the very last writer speaks of 
the coming of Elijah before the great and notable day 
of the Lord; — and I read on with my mind on this 
wonderful issue, and closed the book sadly disap- 
pointed, for he never came." 

I say to hira, ^'I have the sequel to all this in this 
volume," and I hand him the four gospels bound iu 
one. "Take these and you will find what you seek." 
He takes these home, and after a few weeks comes 
back and says, "I have found him of whom Moses 
and the prophets did write — the 'seed of the woman,' 
who came to destroy the devil and his works; the 
'seed of Abraham,' who will bless more than Abra- 
ham's children; the successor of David, Avith all 
authority in heaven and on earth ; the long expected 
Messiah — the all-wise Teacher of men — the ever-living 
Priest to make atonement for sin; the gracious King 
to govern men. I find him to be truly wonderful in 
his whole career, and the one 'all together lovely, and 
the chiefest among ten thousands,' and I believe in 
him as my Savior and Redeemer; but I think there 
ought to be more." "How so ?" "Because Jesus said, 
'Go make disciples,' and I would like to know 
whether the apostles went, and how they made dis- 
ciples." And I hand him Acts of Apostles, and tell 
him to read this volume. He reads it and comes back 
saying, "I now understand what these apostles 
preached for gospel, how they 'made disciples,' how 
they organized churches, and that they did all this un- 
der the guidance of the Spirit; and believing in Christ 
as my Savior, what doth hinder me to be baptized? for I 



48 THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 

want to be his disciple." I baptize him, and then he 
says to me, "I think there ought to be more of that 
Sacred Book." "How so?" I say. "Because these 
disciples were to be taught to observe all things that 
the Master commanded, and the Acts do not tell very 
much of this." I then hand him the Epistles of Paul 
and Peter, and John, and James, and Jude, and tell 
him to read these, and that he will find the instruc- 
tion that is necessary for personal purity, and for 
every possible relationship of life. 

In this way he comes to see that the law was "our 
school-master or leader to bring us to Christ," that we 
may be justified by faith, and not by the works of the 
law; that Christ is our only teacher, and that He 
governs by grace and truth; and that the great aim is 
to lift the soul into Christlikeness. If now he will 
read the Apocalypse he will see that Christ is with 
His people always, and that He is leading all the forces 
of the world to contribute to the final triumphs of His 
kingdom, Avhen "He shall have put down all rule and 
all authority and power;" when a countless host 
shall come from all nations, kindreds and peoples, and 
worship God saying, "Blessing and glory and wisdom 
and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be 
unto our God forever and ever." 

The Bible completes a circle. Paradise lost by sin; 
Paradise regained by redemption; man cut off from 
the tree of life; man restored to it in robes washed in 
the blood of the Lamb; man kept from the tree of 
life by flaming angels; man helped back to it by ten 
thousand times ten thousand angels — his ministering 



THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 49 

spirits; man driven away from the river that made 
glad the garden of God; man restored to the river of 
life, "clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of 
God and the Lamb"; man cursed of God; man where 
"there shall be no more curse"; man hiding from 
God's presence; man in the holy city "where the 
tabernacle of God is with men." "They shall see His 
face, and His name shall be in their foreheads. And 
there shall be no night there; and they need no 
candle; neither light of the sun; for the Lord God 
giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and 
ever." 



The Bible is the oldest and best book in the 
world. It is translated into more languages and read 
by more people than any other volume ever written. 
Its history and its prophecy comprehend the entire 
history of the world. Man as he was, man as he is, 
and man as he shall hereafter be, are its three grand 
themes. It reveals God in the three great works of 
Creation, Providence and Kedemption. 

The plan of the Bible, as an instrument or means 
of salvation, is admirably adapted to the human con- 
stitution, and to the circumstances which surround 
man. The end to be attained is happiness; but that 
end can not be accomplished without sanctification or 
personal devotion to God. It is, indeed, as impossible 
for God to make any man happy, without making him 
holy, as it is for him to lie. The Bible is all arranged 

with a supreme reference" to this fact. And as piety 
5 



50 THE REVEALED MYSTERY. 

or holiness consists in a habit correspondent with the 
divine will and character, and is not natural to man 
as he now is, it must be preceded by a change of 
heart. But this change of the affections being the 
result of faith in the testimony of God, that testimony 
for such a change must furnish motives. These 
motives presuppose gracious acts of kindness on the 
part of God. Faith receives this testimony concern- 
ing these facts. These facts, when believed, produce 
corresponding feelings or states of mind, sometimes 
called repentance or a new heart; and this new heart 
leads to those good actions denominated piety and 
humanity, or holiness and righteousness. The links 
in this divine chain of moral and spiritual instrumen- 
tality are five — -facts^ testimony^ faith^ feeling^ action — 
the end of which is salvation. The whole revelation 
of God is arranged upon this theory or view of man's 
constitution. Thus God acts, the Holy Spirit testifies, 
man believes, feels, then acts according to the divine 
will. Thus becomes he a new creature. In truth the 
Bible is a glorious system of grace — an absolutely 
complete and perfect adaptation of spiritual means to 
a great and glorious end. — Alexander Camjphell. 



WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST? 



"While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them 
saying, What think ye of Christ, Whose son is he? They say unto 
him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth 
David in spirit call him Lord, saying the Lord said unto my Lord, 
Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool ? 
If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" — MatT. xxii: 41-45. 

nHIS answer indicates that the Jews believed that 
the promised Messiah would be simply the off- 
spring of David. This was only a half-truth, and a 
half-truth is seldom better than a falsehood. Paul 
declares the whole truth when he says, "He was born 
of the seed of David, according to the flesh, and was 
declared to be the Son of God with power, according 
to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the 
dead." (Rom.i: 3, 4.) McKnight renders this as fol- 
lows: "He was born of the seed of David, with 
respect to the flesh, but was declared the Son of God, 
with respect to the spirit of holiness, by his resurrec- 
tion from the dead." 

On the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, Jesus asked 
his disciples, "Who do men say that I the Son of Man 
am ? They said. Some say John the Baptist, some 
Elias, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." 
This was a remarkable answer. Clearly the people 
believed that a resurrection was possible. The life of 
Jesus must have been a marvelous life to have made 
such an impression as this; and had Jesus been simply 
a man, aye, had he been simply a prophet, he would 



52 WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 

have been satisfied to be known as John the Baptist, 
the greatest of all the prophets, in his own estimation. 
But he was not satisfied with this answer; and know- 
ing the importance of these men, whom he would soon 
commission to preach his gospel, having a proper 
conception of his nature and personality, he asked, 
''But who say ye that I am?" Peter voiced their con- 
victions, when he replied, "Thou art the Christ, the 
Son of the living God." With this answer Jesus was 
satisfied: "Blessed art thou Simon Barjonah; ^ ^ 
On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it." This is a fundamen- 
tal truth, — the rock on which Jesus builds his church. 
"Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, 
which is Jesus Christ." (I Cor. iii: 11.) 

Jesus believed himself to be more than a man, 
more than a prophet, more than a John the Baptist. 
He was conscious of Divinity. He said, "I and my 
Father are one," "I came down from heaven," "My 
Father worketh hitherto and I work." The Jews 
called this blasphemy, because he made himself equal 
with God. When asked by the Sanhedrim, "Art thou 
then the Son of God ?" he answered, "Ye say that I 
am," — and this was the final evidence that sealed his 
doom. 

We have a right to inquire whether his words 
and works harmonize with this consciousness of 
Divinity. I am conscious of power to lift this Bible. 
I take hold of it as if I could lift it. This act is in 
harmony with my consciousness of power. I would 
not take hold of the corner of a church building in this 



WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 53 

way, because I have no consciousness of power to lift it. 
Did Jesus talk like a man, or like God ? Aye, did he 
talk like any of the prophets of the olden time ? The 
prophets said, "The word of the Lord came unto me 
saying, "Hear ye the word of the Lord," "Thus saith 
the Lord;" but Jesus said, "You have heard that it 
hath been said by them of old time, ^ ^ but /say 
unto you;" "He that heareth these sayings of mm^;" 
and not the least impression made was this, that "he 
taught as one having authority and not as the scribes." 
He did not reason like a man. In fact we may 
say that he never reasoned except to help some one 
else to reason. We lay down premises and proceed 
to logical conclusions. Sometimes our premises are 
incomplete, and sometimes our reasoning is illogical. 
Concerning mysterious things, we sometimes proceed 
by analogies. We say here is spring, summer, 
autumn, winter, — and winter wears a shroud, — and 
spring is a revival, a sort of resurrection, and probably 
there is something for dying man like this. Or we 
point to the worm, going into its chrysalis grave, and 
emerging in the springtime a beautiful butterfly, and 
we say there may be something for us like this. But 
Jesus did not reason himself to a conclusion on this 
and other hidden questions. He simply affirmed. 
He was dogmatic. He boldly declared, "All that in 
their graves shall hear my voice and come forth: they 
that have done good unto the resurrection of life: and 
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of 
damnation." This is not the reasoning of a Plato or 
a Socrates. Again he says, "In my Father's house 



54 WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 

are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have 
told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I 
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and 
receive you to myself, that where I am you may be 
also." This is not like the lecture of Dr. Cook on the 
question, "Does death end all V Jesus speaks out of 
his fullness of knowledge. He speaks like God, and 
not like man. 

Again, in this chapter, "I am the way, the truth 
the life," and at another time, "1 am the resurrection 
and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were 
dead, yet shall he live." Which one of all the 
prophets, from Moses to John the Baptist, would have 
dared to use language like this? And again, "Come 
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I 
will give you rest." Which of all the prophets could 
have said this? Not Moses, the great lawgiver, not 
Elijah, the law restorer, not Isaiah, the evangelical 
prophet, not John the Baptist, the greatest of all the 
prophets. This is not the language of a philosopher, 
nor the language of a great prophet, but the language 
of the Son of God, who said, "You believe in God, 
believe also in me." 

Then he had a remarkable memory. Several 
years ago, while holding a meeting in a small town in 
Ohio, a physician sought an interview with me. He 
said to me, "You are the only religious people I know, 
who put the very question, at the door of the church, 
which I can not answer in the affirmative. 1 mean this 
question : Do you believe, with all your heart, in Jesus, 
as the Christ, the Son of God ? If I could say yes to 



J 



WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 55 

this question, I would be with you." Then he went 
on to revamp some old skepticism about the truth of 
this and that, wa}^ back in the days of Moses. I said, 
"What has all that to do with this main question ?" 
"True," said he, "but I was coming to the main 
trouble, which is my grave doubt that Jesus could 
have been born of a virgin, as ,the Gospels state." 
"Hold on," said I, "Have you read the Gospels?" 
"Yes, carefully." "Do you think Jesus was de- 
mented?" "No," said he, "it would stultify all com- 
mon sense to say that so great a teacher, admired for 
his character and his moral precepts by the most intel- 
ligent and thoughtful people of the world, was a 
lunatic. It is to me one of the great marvels, that 
the touch of his hand, and the words of his mouth, 
lay at the foundation of all that is best in human 
civilization. No, he was not demented." "Do you 
think he was dishonest?" "No; on the other hand he 
was the very pink of perfection in this respect. It 
was his intense honesty that made him a martyr. A 
little less honesty, and a little more policy, would 
have saved him from that humiliating death. No, he 
was not dishonest." "He had, then," said I, "a sound 
mind, a sound memory, and an honest heart?" "Of 
course." "Well then, what did he mean when he 
said, *And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine 
own self, with the glory which I had with thee before 
the world was?' You have a memory reaching back 
to your early childhood, in Wilmington, Ohio. You 
would not thank me to call it in question. You 
claim to have a sound mind and an honest heart. 



Db WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 

You are conscious of remembering things that trans- 
pired when you were four years old, — about fifty years 
ago. But here is one whose memory leaps back over 
all the ages, and is just as conscious of remembering 
the glory he had with the Father before the world was, 
as you are of remembering the things that transpired 
in the days of your childhood; and I care not whether 
I can answer, either your difficulties about the things 
written by Moses, or your problem about the miracu- 
lous birth of Christ, here is a stupendous fact that 
forever settles the existence of Jesus Christ before he 
chose to be born of the 'virgin Mary." The Doctor 
had no more to say. 

Again, here is a teacher who never stopped to 
amend or correct his teaching. When we preach 
sermons, we review them, and sometimes amend and 
improve them; and not infrequently the improved 
sermon is preached to ourselves, while the head is 
resting on our pillows after the Lord's day's work is 
all over. When we write books, we wait for the 
critics to review them, and the second edition is an 
improvement of the first. When we buy books, we 
buy the latest edition, that we may have the best 
thoughts of the author. We know that man is falli- 
ble and susceptible of improvement. But the great 
Teacher made no amendments, no corrections of his 
utterances, and the light of all the after centuries has 
been pouring on his teaching, in favorable and unfav- 
orable criticism, and it is as true to-day as it was nearly 
nineteen hundred years ago, that "Never man spake 
like this man." The world has, long ago, either out- 



WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 57 

grown, or greatly improved every thing the wisest and 
best men have said or done, but tTesus stands to-day, as 
he stood then, without a rival. This is confessed per- 
fection, and confessed perfection is confessed Divinity. 
And so I might stand here many hours to tell you in 
how many ways, the language and life of Jesus were 
in perfect harmony with his consciousness that he was 
the Son of God. 

Paul says he was declared to be the Son of God 
with powder. McKnight's free rendering of this verse 
is, ''But was declared the Son of God, with great 
power of evidence, with respect to his holy spiritual 
nature, by his resurrection from the dead." 

Evidently his miracles are here meant, and 
specially the miracle of his resurrection. John says, in 
closing his testimony, "And many other signs truly 
did Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, which are 
not written in this book, but these are written, that ye 
might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, 
and that believing ye might have life through his 
name." Jesus wTOught miracles in attestation of his 
claim to be the Son of God. Nicodemus admitted 
that he wrought miracles when he said, "No man can 
do these miracles that thou doest except God be with 
him," — and he gave this as the ground of his belief 
that Jesus was a teacher come from God. The scribes 
admitted that he wrought miracles when they said, 
"He hath Be-elzebub, and by the prince of the devils 
casteth he out devils." 

But Paul says the resurrection of Jesus is the 
crowning evidence that he is the Son of God. Chris- 



58 WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 

tianity has ever regarded this as its great bulwark. 
This accepted, all else must be accepted. I am willing 
to risk the whole controversy, including the authen- 
ticity and genuineness of the Bible, upon this one 
question of fact; for, if Jesus of Nazareth arose from 
the dead. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God; 
his apostles were his embassadors to speak and act for 
Him. There are no mistakes in their testimony con- 
cerning Him, and none in their teaching "all things 
he commanded." Moreover, Christ and his apostles 
sanctioned the Scriptures of their day, as the Word of 
God. They quoted from Moses, David, Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel, and other prophets, and so put their 
stamp of approval upon the authenticity of these 
writings, and the genuineness of their authorship. 
They referred to events of history, including the 
miraculous and marvelous, such as the passage through 
the Eed Sea, and the river Jordan, the feeding of 
Israel with manna, the lifting up of the brazen ser- 
pent, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the 
flood in the days of Noah, the story of Jonah and 
Nineveh, and so put upon them the seal of their 
approval as veritable history. 

Did Jesus arise from the dead, as the prophets 
said he would, and as he said he would, over and over 
again, during his earthly ministry? 

Let us briefly review the evidence. It is admitted, 
by infidel and Christian alike, that such a person as 
Jesus, came into the world, and spent about thirty 
years in Palestine. Every time we date a document 
or a letter, we accept the fact that Jesus Christ gave 



WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 59 

the civilized world a new era. If there is any one in 
this audience who denies that such a person was born 
in Palestine, about nineteen hundred years ago, and 
died about the age of thirty, my argument is not for 
him, for he has not the brains to consider it. 

Moreover, I think we may say that it is admitted 
Jesus was buried, and, that a few days later, his 
body was not found where it had been buried. The 
enemies of Jesus reported, — the report was current 
when Matthew wrote his gospel, — that the friends of 
Jesus stole away the body Avhile the guard slept, the 
soldiers themselves giving this testimony. These 
soldiers confessed to unfaithfulness in this statement; 
for no true soldier will sleep on guard. Besides, the 
penalty for sleeping on guard was death. There 
could be no reasonable excuse for sleeping on guard, 
because the guard was changed every few hours. 
There must have been some influence at work here 
besides a desire to tell the truth. Matthew says it 
was "large money" given as a bribe. But, putting 
this aside, it was not likely that the men who deserted 
Jesus, at the time of his crucifixion, would summon 
courage to make the attempt to rescue the body from 
the tomb of Joseph. And then what is such testimony 
worth ? Colonel Ingersol, on the Bench today, would 
not allow such testimony to go to the jury; for what 
does a witness know of any event that has transpired 
when he was asleep, — and so sound asleep that the 
rolling away of a great stone had not awakened him ? 
This was the best answer infidelity had for at least 
thirty years after the resurrection of Christ. And 



60 WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 

what better have infidels brought forward since ? 
Have they not closed their eyes to all the over- 
whelming evidence of the truth of Christianity ever 
since? Infidelity goes through the world with its 
eyes shut, lifting up its voice against Christ, and 
holding out its hands for the " large money," with 
which to stifle the cries of outraged honor. 

On the other hand the friends of Jesus testify 
that he arose from the dead. What constitutes 
good testimony ? 

1. The facts must have been cognizable by 
human senses. 

2. The witnesses must be strictly honest. 

3. There must be no good reason why the wit- 
nesses could have been deceived. 

Now the death and burial of Jesus, His reappear- 
ance among them, and His repeated visits and con- 
versations, were cognizable facts. They say they saw 
Him, heard Him, handled Him, walked with Him, 
talked with Him, and looked steadfastly after Him, 
as the angels escorted Him to His throne. 

These witnesses have put their honesty out of 
question by their martyrdom. They received no 
earthly emoluments for their testimony. No "large 
money" was given to them. They persisted in 
preaching the resurrection of Christ, and the hope of 
the Gospel, based on this fact, in the midst of bitterest 
persecution and severest ordeals, and finally sealed 
their testimony in martyr's blood. 

Could they have been mistaken ? Yes, in one 
of three ways : (1) A short acquaintance with Jesus. 



WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 61 

(2) A long absence. (3) Unfavorable circumstances 
for identifying Him. But there was no short ac- 
quaintance. For more than three years they had been 
with Jesus daily, in the city, in the country, in the 
quiet home of Mary and Martha, and amidst the 
crowds that thronged Him everywhere. They saw 
Him in repose, and in action. They heard His voice 
in the quiet hours of seclusion, and then again ringing 
out in clear tones to the utmost limits of his great 
audiences. Sometimes they were awed by the majesty 
of His bearing, and again drawn to Him by the sweet- 
ness of His notes of love. They loved Him. Love 
always sees, — sees the minutest things in the person 
and in the actions of the person loved. They knew 
the color of His eyes, the color of His hair, and how 
He was dressed; they knew the face — all its features — 
and that which is hard to paint, called expression; 
they knew His walk and the peculiar tones of His 
voice. 

There was no long absence. He was in the 
tomb of Joseph only a tevi hours. His disciples had 
no expectation of seeing Him alive again, and this 
fact appears in artless story. That there was no con- 
spiracy to fix up a story, is seen in this artlessness, and 
in seeming discrepancies in the several statements. 
There He stood before them just as He appeared in 
life, but it was so unexpected that Thomas could not 
believe without the further evidence of touching the 
places where he had seen the ugly gashes in hands and 
side, and then exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" 
Mary saw Him, through a mist of tears, in the early 



62 WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 

dawn, and took Him for the gardener, but when he 
said, "Mary," as no one else could say "Mary," she 
answered "Rabboni," and fell at His feet. There was 
no long absence; and had He been absent twenty 
years, there would have been no difficulty in identi- 
fying Him. 

The circumstances were not unfavorable to this 
identification. They saw Him, heard Him, and were 
with Him forty days. Who could have imposed on 
their credulity ? Was there any one like Jesus ? I 
think His countenance and figure must have been 
stamped with peculiarities all His own. Who could 
talk like Jesus? If anyone, where could he have 
learned the wonderful things which were uniformly 
the subjects of His conversation ? Who could tit 
himself, in words and ways, into those three eventful 
years ? A man comes back to your town after twenty- 
five years' absence. He was born here, raised here, 
educated here, and lived here fifty years, and helped to 
make the history of your town. He is gray, now. 
He walks with trembling step, and speaks with 
trembling lips, but who doubts his identity ? Many 
who knew him best are dead. The younger generation 
never saw him. Bat who doubts that he is the same 
man ? And who can talk of those fifty years of history 
as this man can ? And who can fit into the relation- 
ships and business of those fifty years as a substitute 
for this man ? 

These witnesses were honest men, and there 
is not the slightest reason for believing that they 
were mistaken; and therefore their testimony must 



WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 63 

be received. If you say you cannot receive it, I 
advise you never to sit on a jury, for you will never 
hear more reliable testimony than this. If you 
cannot believe testimony like this, you cannot 
make up your mind conclusively on any question of 
fact, and will be compelled to limit your conclusions 
to what you see and hear for yourself; — and why are 
your ears and eyes better than others ? 

Leslie, in his "Method with Deists," written 
nearly two hundred years ago, lays down these rules 
touching the truth of matters of fact in general : 

1. "That the matter of fact be such as that 
men's outward senses, their eyes and ears, may be 
judges of it. 

2. That it be done publicly, in the face of the 
world. 

3. That not only public monuments be kept in 
memory of it, but some outward actions be performed. 

4. That such monuments, and such actions or 
observances, be instituted, and do commence from the 
time the matter of fact was done." 

We accept ninety-five per cent, of history, written 
by honest historians, when the facts bear only the 
first two of these marks. Not much of this world's 
history bears all four of these marks, hut nothing can 
be false that hears them all. Turning to the Old Tes- 
tament history, we find that nearly all the important 
facts have all these marks ; the covenant with Abra- 
ham, the slaying of the first-born of Egypt, and saving 
the first-born of Israel, the giving of the Law, the 
passage through Jordan, the feeding of Israel with 



64: WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 

manna, and many more. No after-writer could have 
convinced Israel that these facts were legends, any 
more than a man, however learned, could convince 
Americans that the Declaration of Independence is a 
myth. Nor could the book of Deuteronomy fit into 
Jeremiah's time, any more than Patrick Henry's 
speech could fit into the times of Andrew Jackson. 

So also, the important matters of fact in the New 
Testament, have all these marks. Take the great 
central facts, — Jesus died, was buried, arose from the 
dead, — the facts which Paul preached "first of all," 
when he preached the Gospel. These were such facts 
as may be recognized by the senses. They were 
public events — not " done in a corner." 

The Lord's Supper is a monument of the death of 
Christ, and the Lord's Day is a monument of His 
resurrection. How old are these monuments ? The 
Lord's Supper was instituted the night of the cruci- 
fixion, and has been observed through all the succeed- 
ing centuries by the disciples of Christ. Jesus arose 
on the first day of the week, and immediately the fol- 
lowers of Christ kept it sacred as the Lord's Day. 
Even Jewish Christians gradually abandoned the 
Sabbath, and observed the Lord's Day, — the standing 
monument of the resurrection that brought hope to 
the world. 

I think you are ready to agree with me that the 
resurrection of Christ is among the best fortified 
facts of history. 

What follows? 

1. Paul says He was declared to be the Son 



WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 65 

of God by this fact. Mark yon, not a Son of God, 
but the Son of God. Yes more, The Christy and 
therefore the Teacher, the Priest, the King — my 
Teacher, my Priest, my King, my Lord and my God. 
I will be His disciple, and the subject of His 
atoning grace. 

2. The apostles are His embassadors to speak 
for Him, and therefore I will continue steadfastly in 
the apostle's doctrine, in the fellowship, in breaking of 
bread, and in prayer. 

3. My faith is not vain, nor is my hope vain, 
for ." I know whom 1 have believed, and I am per- 
suaded that He is able to keep that which I have com- 
mitted unto Him against that day." " He hath 
abolished death and brought life and immortality to 
light through the Gospel." '' When Christ, who is 
our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with 
Him in glory." " It doth not yet appear what we 
shall be, but we know that when He shall appear we 
shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 

Ye weary and heavy laden, what think ye of 
Christ ? You do not doubt His power; you do not 
doubt His love. He says, " Come to Me." The 
distance between the '^ Ye" and the "Me" is covered 
by this sweet word, "Come." You are sinful. He will 
forgive you; you are lost. He will redeem you; you 
are ignorant, He will teach you; the burdens of this 
world are heavy. His burden is light; the yoke of sin 
and lust is hard, His yoke is easy; you are weary of 
sin and your soul is troubled. He will give you rest; 
you are in bondage, He will give you freedom; you 



66 WHAT THINK YE OF THE CHRIST. 

are on the way to ruin and despair, He will lead you 
to peace and joy. What think ye of His inimitable 
invitation, " Come to Me ? " He is not asking you to 
solve great questions in philosophy or theology. He 
simply pleads, "Come to Me." He is the Way, the 
Truth, the Life — too wise to err, too good to be unkind. 
Come. You can come. He will not compel you. 
The step must be your own. His people must be a 
willing people. He can not save those who will not 
be saved. Come, take His yoke, learn of Him, and 
find rest for the weary soul. 



THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 



"The Spirit itself bearetli witness with our spirit that we are 
the children of God: and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and 
joint heirs with Christ: if so be that we suffer with him that we 
may be also glorified together." — Rom. viii : 16-17. 



HVER the work of the Holy Spirit in revelation, 
I conversion, and sanctifi cation, there has been 

much acrimonious discussion. The Quakers applied 
to all the friends of Jesus, the promise of Christ to his 
apostles, — *'He shall bring all things to your remem- 
brance," — and claimed to speak as the Spirit gave 
them utterance; and the Shakers danced as they were 
moved by the Spirit. If any one called this in 
question, they answered, "Thee does not believe in the 
Holy Spirit." Not long ago, and specially early in this 
century, the strange agitations, shoutings, falling into 
unconsciousness, and reviving in the agonies of 
remorse, or in the ecstasies of joy, witnessed in camp- 
meetings and other revivals, were attributed to the 
work of the Spirit. When any one questioned this 
he was answered, "You do not believe in the Spirit." 
Now the work of the Holy Spirit is not dependent 
on your view or mine. His work will go on whether 
we understand it or not. And therefore a discourse 
on this subject would be wholly unnecessary, were it 
not for the fact, that unscriptural views of the work 
of the Holy Spirit keep many a person from coming 
to Christ according to the Gospel. 



68 THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

Comprehensively we may classify the work of 
God's Spirit: 1. As related to material things. 2. As 
related to the mind. 3. As related to the heart. 

At the creation, "The Spirit of God moved upon the 
face of the waters." This was God's creative power. 
John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the 
Word was with God, and the Word was God. The 
same was in the beginning with God. All things were 
made by him; and without him was not anything made 
that was made." (John i:l.) God created — the 
Word created — the Spirit created — an inseparable 
trinity in unity, at the very beginning. We can 
not separate between a man and his spirit; no more 
can we between God and His Spirit. No one can 
question his power to do what he will, by His Spirit. 
By His Spirit he created the heavens and the earth; 
he sent the flood; he "caught away Philip;" he used 
the tongue of a brute to rebuke the madness of Ba- 
laam. By His Spirit he will raise the dead; he will 
cause the heavens to pass away with a great noise, 
and the elements to melt with a fervent heat. Nor 
will this work be any less the work of God and his 
Son Jesus Christ. His work upon mind is seen in 
inspiration and revelation, and His work in the heart 
is seen in the fruits of holy living. 

We may also classify the work of the Spirit as it 
stands related to the Truth. 

1. God revealed the Truth hy the Spirit. "Holy 
men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Spirit." "Prophecy came not in the old time, by the 
will of man." (II Peter, i : 21.) Paul says, ''All Scrip- 



THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 69 

ture is given by inspiration of God." (II Tim. iii : 16.) 
And again he says, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things 
which God hath prepared for them that love him; but 
God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the 
Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of 
God." (II Cor. ii : 9, 10.) Notice his use of "we" and 
"you," in this chapter. "We speak wisdom ^ ^ the 
wisdom of God ^ ^ not the wisdom of the world 
* ^ wisdom which none of the princes of this world 
knew." * ^ "We have received not the spirit of 
the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we may 
know the things freely given to us of God; which 
things also we speak, not in the words which man's 
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth, 
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the 
natural man (evidently the uninspired man — the man 
whose wisdom is the result of human thought) re- 
ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they 
are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, 
because they are spiritually discerned" (that is, they 
are known only as God reveals them- by his Spirit). 

Every one at all acquainted with the four gospels, 
has noticed that Christ always spake of that collection 
of writings called "The Scriptures," as the Word of 
God; that he regarded the whole in that light; that he 
treated the Scripture, every part of it, as infallibly 
true, and clothed with divine authority. Not that 
every word or every sentence, taken by itself, was the 
word of God, but that it was a true and faithful 
record of the facts and precepts; and as Paul says, 



70 THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

"written for our admonition upon whom the ends of 
the world have come," and "profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
ness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto all good works." Jesus came to bear 
witness to the truth. He proved himself to be the 
Christ, the Son of God, and therefore the Great 
Teacher. His word is truth, unquestioned and unques- 
tionable. His sanction of the Scripture, which was 
then read in the synagogues of Israel, is, to every 
disciple, direct and incontrovertible evidence of the 
divine origin of the Old Testament Scriptures. 

This same Jesus said to his apostles, "Make dis- 
ciples," and "Teach them to observe all things what- 
soever I have commanded you." That they might be 
qualified to make and teach disciples, he promised 
them divine guidance. "I will send you another 
Advocate * ^ even the Spirit of Truth. ^ "^ 
When the Spirit which proceedeth from the Father is 
come. He will testify of me, and ye shall bear witness, 
because ye have been with me from the beginning. * * 
He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to 
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you. ^ '^ 
He will guide you unto all truth * ^ and He will 
show you things to come." (John xiv, xv, xvi.) He 
also said to these same men, "Whatsoever you bind 
on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever 
you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt, 
xvi : 19.) That is to say, you will speak as 1 would 
speak. You will be my embassadors on earth, and 
will be qualified to declare for me, and in my name, 



THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 71 

what is binding on the conscience, and what is not. 
"I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven," — 
authority to open the door of salvation for a lost 
world. Evidently these apostles were to be inspired 
to speak and write, with the same infallibility and 
authority, as the Lord himself. 

To Paul he said, "I have appeared unto thee for 
this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness, 
both of these things which thou hast seen, and of 
those things in the which I will appear unto thee." Of 
himself, Paul says, ''I was not a whit behind the very 
chiefest apostles." We are therefore compelled to 
accept the testimony and doctrine of these apostles as 
given by inspiration of God. And these apostles 
bear witness to the inspiration of the Old Testament 
Scriptures. 

2. God confirms the Word hy the Spirit. Paul 
says to the Church at Corinth, "My speech and my 
preaching was not with enticing words of man's wis- 
dom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, 
that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, 
but in the power of God." (I Cor. ii : 4, 5.) This power 
was the power to work miracles, and miracles consti- 
tuted "the demonstration of the Spirit." In another 
place, he says the gospel of salvation "Began to 
be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by 
them that heard him; God also bearing them witness 
with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and 
gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will." 
Jesus said to his apostles, "These signs shall follow 
them that believe;" and Mark says, "They went forth 



72 THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

and preached everywhere, the Lord working with 
them, and confirming the word with signs following." 

Nor were supernatural gifts confined to the 
apostles. The first churches had no written New Tes- 
tament, as we have. A few of the Jewish believers 
had copies of the Old Testament Scriptures, and were 
familiar with the facts, precepts and prophecies con- 
tained therein. But the Gentile world was without 
this knowledge. The apostles were to teach the doc- 
trine of Christ, and the disciples were to continue 
steadfastly in this doctrine. There was clearly a neces- 
sity for the continuance of spiritual gifts. 

Paul said to the Church in Corinth, "Now there 
are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; difl^erences 
of administrations, but the same Lord; * ^ diver- 
sities of operations, but the same God worketh all in 
all; * ^ for to one is given, by the Spirit, the 
word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge; 
to another faith; to another the gifts of healing; to 
another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; 
to another discerning of spirits; to another divers 
kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of 
tongues." (I Cor. xii:4-10.) 

Dr. McKnight renders freely as follows: "Now 
there are diversities of gifts, but they all proceed from 
the same Spirit, so that, in respect of their origin, the 
spiritual gifts are equally divine. iVnd there are 
diversities of ministries, for which the diflerent gifts 
are bestowed; but the same Lord is served by these 
ministries; ^ * and there are diversities of in work- 
ings, in the minds of the spiritual men, but it is the 



THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 73 

same God who works inwardly all supernatural impres- 
sion in all. * "^ Now to one indeed is given the 
word of wisdom, — the whole doctrine of the gospel; 
and to another a complete knowledge of the former 
revelations recorded in the writings of Moses and the 
prophets; * ^ and to another such a divine faith 
in the divine origin of the gospel, ^ * as enableth 
him boldly to preach and confirm it by miracle; and 
to another the gifts of healing diseases; and to another 
the inworkings of powers, — that is, an ability to work 
in others these spiritual gifts and miraculous powers; 
and to another prophecy, and to another the faculty 
of speaking divers kinds of foreign languages; and to 
another the faculty of interpreting what is spoken in 
foreign languages by inspiration, for the edification, 
exhortation and comfort of the church." Some of 
these gifts belonged more particularly to the apostles, — 
such as the "word of wisdom" — a complete inspira- 
tion guiding into all truth, — and the inworkings of 
powers — the power to impart spiritual gifts to others, 
as did Peter and John in Samaria. (Acts viii.) 

In this same connection (Chapter xiii), Paul said, 
"Prophecies shall fail, tongues shall cease, knowledge 
shall vanish away." Referring to these same spiritual 
gifts. Dr. McKnight's free rendering and commen- 
tary is as follows: "But, whether there be teachings 
by inspiration, they shall be abolished in the church; 
or foreign languages, they shall cease after the gospel 
has been preached to all nations; or the inspired 
knowledge of the ancient revelations, it shall be 
abolished, when the church has attained its mature 



74 THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

state." Again he says, "Though the apostle hath 
mentioned none of the spiritual gifts, except prophecy, 
tongues and knowledge, what he hath said of these is 
applicable to all the rest. They shall be abolished in 
the church after it hath attained sufficient inward 
strength to support and edify itself." Indeed Paul 
teaches this when he says (Eph. iv: 11-14) that God 
gave the church "a diversity of ministers, for the per- 
fecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for 
the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come, in 
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of 
the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we henceforth 
be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried 
about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, 
and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to 
deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up 
into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." 
This language clearly indicates that these spiritual 
gifts would continue till a certain end was accom-. 
plished. Dr. McKnight's commentary is this: "These 
supernaturally endowed teachers are to continue in 
the church, until, being fully instructed by their dis- 
courses and writings, we all, who compose the church, 
come through one faith and knowledge of the Son of 
God, to perfect manhood as a church, even to the 
measure of the stature, which, when full grown, it ought 
to have; so that the church, thus instructed and 
enlarged, is able to direct and defend itself without 
supernatural aid." 

Miracles have never been wrought in any age 



THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 75 

directly to convert men, but to confirm a divine mes- 
sage or institution. Therefore, miracle and divine 
revelation always stand or fall together. These 
miracles continued a long time in the church to con- 
firm the truth revealed by apostles and prophets. 
But when revelation was complete, revelation ceased, 
and the miracles wrought to confirm the word ceased 
also, as Paul said they would. 

But, says one, what of faith cure, and divine heal- 
ing, and Christian Science? Christian Science is 
neither Christian nor science, for its teachers deny the 
divinity of Christ, and pursue methods of cure that 
are the veriest humbug. "Faith cure" — or "divine 
healing" — is believed in by many good people who 
have "a zeal of God without knowledge," and who 
unwittingly make a large contribution to human skep- 
ticism. The cures said to be Avrought by "faith cure" 
and "divine healing," bear no comparison with the 
miracles of Christ and his apostles; and this fact 
makes a good many people say, "If the miracles of the 
Bible are like these, then there is no sure foundation 
for the claims of the Christian religion." 

8. The Spirit of God dwells in the hearts of those 
who helieve and ohey the Truth, Peter says "the Holy 
Spirit is given to those who obey the Lord." (Acts 
V : 32.) Paul says, "Know ye not that ye are the temple 
of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you." 
"Quench not the Spirit." "Grieve not the Holy Spirit 
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of 
redemption." "The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, 
peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. 



76 THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

meekness, temperance." The best evidence that the 
Spirit of God dwells in us is this fruit-bearing. 

Now, on the day of Pentecost, we find all these 
departments of the Spirit's work. The apostles spake 
as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, revealing the 
Truth. There were miracles, — the sound as of a 
rushing mighty wind, the tongues of fire that sat upon 
each of them, the speaking in other tongues, — con- 
firming the Truth. There was the promise that the 
Holy Spirit would be given to all who obey the Truth. 
The people were convinced that the apostles were 
God's messengers, and that their message was from 
God. They heard, believed, obeyed and rejoiced in 
the salvation of Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

I come now to the text. "The Spirit itself 
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children 
of God." This letter is addressed to a church made 
up of Jewish and Gentile believers, and disturbed by 
the contentions brought about by Judaizing teachers. 
Paul's argument, through eleven chapters of this 
epistle, is, that the gospel, and not the law of Moses, 
is the power of God unto salvation; that God is not a 
respecter of persons; that "the law of the spirit of life 
in Christ Jesus had made them free from the law of 
sin and death;" that "Christ was the end of the law for 
righteousness," and that the Spirit had, by miraculous 
demonstrations, testified of God's approval of salva- 
tion for the Gentiles, as well as for the Jews; and, as 
the great purpose of Christ, the Son of God, was to 
make all alike children of God — himself the elder 
brother, — the filial disposition, — the likeness to 



THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 77 

Christ, — was an inward witness that they were the 
children of God. They were no longer bondmen, but 
children, for they had not received the "spirit of 
bondage again to fear," but the "spirit of adoption," 
whereby all alike could cry Abba, Father. 

But we do no violence to this teaching if we give 
it a wider application. The day of miraculous mani- 
festations is past. The Word of God is the testimony 
of the Spirit. Jesus said : "I will send you another 
Advocate, and he shall testify of me-, and ye also 
shall bear witness." Evidently Peter's sermon, on the 
day of Pentecost, Avas the testimony of the Spirit. In 
Nehemiah's record of the prayer of the Levites, are 
these words, "Thou didst testify against them by 
thy Spirit in the prophets." (Neh. ix : 30.) "God 
spake in times past unto the fathers by the 
prophets." (Heb i : 1.) In these last days he speaks^ 
by Christ and his apostles. God said to Noah, "My 
Spirit shall not always strive with man." God strove 
with the antediluvians by his Spirit in Noah. To 
resist Noah's preaching, was to resist the Spirit that 
was in Noah. Stephen said, "You do always resist 
the Spirit, as did your fathers, so do ye. Which of the 
prophets have not your fathers persecuted ?" (Acts vii.) 

A witness must know whereof he testifies. Paul 
says, "What man knoweth the things of a man save 
the spirit of man which is in him ? Even so the 
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." 
(1 Cor. ii.) Here are two witnesses. The only witness 
that knows the things of God is the Spirit of God. 
The only witness that knows the things of a man, is 



Y8 THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

the spirit of that man. These two must unite in the 
testimony that we are the children of God. One is 
good for nothing without the other, so far as my 
soul's salvation is concerned. The word of God, — the 
testimony of the Spirit of God, — tells me how to be- 
come a child of God, and how to be a faithful child of 
God ; and my own spirit, enlightened by the word of 
God, is conscious of having accepted God's conditions 
of salvation, and of the filial disposition and life that 
distinguishes a child of God. When Peter announced 
the conditions of salvation on the day of Pentecost, 
three thousand people " gladly received the word," 
and became obedient to the King, and "continued 
steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine, in the fellowship, 
in breaking of bread and in prayers," " and did eat 
their meat with gladness and singleness of heart." 
Hero the Spirit himself bore witness with the spirit of 
these believers, that they were the children of God. 

The Spirit says, " Believe on the Lord Jesus"; 
my spirit replies, "Yea, Lord, I believe, help Thou 
my unbelief." The Spirit testifies that " All men 
every where must repent"; my soul answers, " I have 
put ofi' the old man with his deeds." The Spirit says, 
" Be baptized," and my spirit answers, " I was not 
disobedient to the heavenly vision." " God be thanked 
that although I was a servant of sin, 1 have obeyed 
from the heart the form of doctrine delivered unto 
me." The Spirit says, " Keep thyself pure," and my 
spirit responds, " I pray God that my whole spirit, 
and soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 



THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 79 

" If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint 
heirs with Jesus Christ," the only begotten of the Fa- 
ther, and heir of all things. To be joint heir with 
Jesus Christ is to share with him the wealth, the 
honor and the glory of the universe. " If so be that 
we suffer with him, that we may be glorified together." 
" To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me 
in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set 
down with my Father in his throne." — Crucified with 
him, buried with him, risen with him, walking with 
him, suffering with him, and glorified with him ! "Be- 
hold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed 
on us, that we should be called the children of God !" 

A poor boy, ragged and forlorn, knocked one 
early morning at a widow's door, and begged the 
privilege of chopping a little wood to earn his break- 
fast; and then he wanted more work to earn his din- 
ner and supper; and so she kept him, out of pity, a 
few days. One day a friend dropped in from a dis- 
tant neighborhood, and warned the woman against 
harboring the boy. "I know him," said he; " he is a 
very bad boy, and little wonder, for his father is in 
prison for misdemeanors, and only recently his mother 
died. He lies and swears, and they say he steals." 
The mother was alarmed, and, when the man was gone, 
she called the boy in, and told him what she had 
heard, and that he must prepare to move on. The 
little fellow began to weep, and said, "I thought I 
would try to be good like your children are. I have 
no mother to love me and care for me. My father 
don't love me and can't help me. I thought^I would 



80 THE WORK AND WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 

try, and that you would help me, but it's no use, no 
use," and turned to go. The good mother's heart was 
touched. " Come here my child," said she, " you may 
stay here and call me mother; and you may call my 
children brother and sister; and I will take off those 
rags and put on better clothes," and she took him in 
her arms and kissed away the fast falling tears. The 
neighbors wondered at this deed of kindness, and some 
of them said they never could have done that. And 
yet, my dear sinner, that is what God is willing to do 
for you. That is what he has done for all of us who 
are his children by faith in Jesus Christ. We were 
children of the devil — bearing his very likeness — and 
yet God said, " Though your sins be as scarlet, they 
shall be white as snow ; though they be red like crim- 
son, they shall be as wool." " I will forgive your sins 
and remember them no more." And he washed us in 
the atoning blood of the Lamb, and made us clean, 
and gave us " beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
mourning, and the garments of praise for the spirit of 
heaviness." 

Ab-ba — the simple cry of the baby child learning 
to speak the Father's name! In the Father's arms, 
folded to the Father's bosom, feeling the beatings of 
a heart, warmer and truer than a mother's, the trusting 
child looks up into the Father's face, beaming with 
love, and, conscious of the filial spirit, cries, Ab-ba — 
Father ! And the Father answers, " Yes, my child. 
The Eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are 
the everlasting arms.'' 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 



"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
much." — James, v : i6. 

nHE great Teacher encouraged his disciples to 
pray, teaching them that "every one that ask- 
eth, receiveth." No lesson stands out more promi- 
nently in all His teaching than the doctrine of God's 
providence over all His creatures. He clothes "the 
grass of the field;" He feeds "the fowls of the air;" 
not a sparrow "falls to the ground without Him;" and 
are "ye not much better than they ?" "Every one 
that asketh, receiveth," is a precious promise to His 
disciples, which has sometimes been used beyond the 
limits intended. Jamcb calls attention to certain ones 
who asked and received not, because they asked amiss, 
that they might consume it upon their lusts. They 
asked to gratify their selfish and carnal desires. Da- 
vid says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord 
will not hear me." Solomon says, if a man turn away 
his ear from hearing the law, "even his prayer shall 
be abomination." Paul says, "that which is without 
faith is sin;" "whatsoever you do in word or deed, do 
all in the name of the Lord Jesus." John says, "we 
have this confidence, that, if we ask anything accord- 
ing to His will. He heareth us." From all this divine 
teaching, we learn that we must not regard iniquity 
in our hearts; we must not turn away from the law; 
we must recognize the mediatorship of Jesus Christ; 



82 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

we must ask in faith; we must ask according to God's 
will. Within these limits, it is true that "everyone 
that asketh, receiveth." In a sentence, the only bar- 
rier between any person and the mercy-seat, is a want 
of that faith which "works by love" and "purifies the 
heart." Such a faith recognizes Jesus as the only 
mediator, accepts his atonement, obeys his will, loves 
what he loves, and hates what he hates. With such a 
faith, whether we be formally in the church or not, 
we may pray for whatever is God's will concerning us. 
The sinner may plead, like the publican, for mercy; 
or, like Paul, for light. Some one may ask. If the 
sinner knows what to do to attain unto forgiveness, 
why should he pray for it ? To this it is perhaps suffi- 
cient to reply. If the Christian knows what to do to 
procure his daily bread, why should he pray for it ? 
We all know that Jesus taught his disciples, as such, 
to pray for "daily bread." It is in the nature of 
things, that a penitent sinner should plead for mercy. 
How can he do otherwise, if he feels the burden of 
sin ? It is not against such prayers for mercy and 
forgiveness that the objection lies; but rather against 
the inconsistent disobedience so often associated with 
the theory and practice of prayer. We pray for daily 
bread, but not for bread in violation of God's law. 
We plow, and sow, and reap, and garner, and grind, 
and bake; and so meet God where he promises to 
meet us. The man who prays for daily bread, and 
folds his arms, refusing to plow, and sow, and reap, 
may think he is trusting God; but really he is tempt- 
ing God to let hitn starve. So, also, the sinner who 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 83 

prays to God to forgive his sins, and refuses to obey 
the voice of God — refuses to obey the gospel of 
Christ — may think he is trusting^ when he is only 
tempting God. Paul prayed for mercy and light; but 
when he learned the way of salvation, he walked in 
that way — he was "immediately obedient to the heav- 
enly vision.'' It is a law in nature and grace alike, 
that God does for man what man can not do for him- 
self; and what man can do, God has determined he 
shall do, or perish. "Show me thy faith without thy 
works, and I will show thee my faith by my works," 
is the inspired statement of James, which voices the 
will of God, as related to man's responsibility and 
power. Paul says, "work out your own salvation ; for 
it is God that works in you, both to will and to do, of 
His good pleasure." Man may be able to do but little, 
in comparison with what God does for him; yet it is 
in the use of that little, whether it be one pound or 
ten, that he proves himself worthy to hear the Master 
say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." In such 
conditions, two extremes seem to meet : we pray as if 
all depended on God; we work as if all depended on 
work. And when these two extremes meet in the 
faith and life of a disciple, we see the highest type of 
Christian manhood. 

Prayer is not, however, so much a thing of law 
as a thing of conviction and feeling. Who will pray? 
is, after all, a more important question than. Who has 
the right to pray? The man who is sentenced to exe- 
cution, if he desires to live, and believes that the gov- 
ernor is able and may become willing to commute his 



84 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

sentence, will pray to that governor; and his prayer 
will be fervent in the ratio of his sense of dependence, 
and of his faith in the power and willingness of the 
governor. So, also, will men pray to God, when they 
feel their dependence on Him, and believe He is able 
and willing to grant according to their needs. Jesus 
evidently intended to teach his disciples the spirit 
from which prayer springs, when he taught them how 
to pray. "Our Father," is the expression of a filial 
spirit; "hallowed be thy name," is the expression of 
a reverential spirit; "thy kingdom come," is the ex- 
pression of a missionary spirit; "thy will be done on 
earth, as it is in heaven," is the expression of an obe- 
dient spirit; "give us this day our daily bread," is the 
expression of a dependent spirit; "forgive us," is the 
expression of a contrite spirit; "as we forgive," is the 
expression of a forgiving spirit; "lead us not into 
temptation," is the expression of a watchful spirit; 
and "thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
glory," is the expression of an adoring spirit. The 
disciple was thus taught the very character he must 
possess before he could, in sincerity, pray this brief and 
comprehensive prayer. 

It is important, therefore, that we should cultivate 
the spirit of prayer. To do this, it is not only neces- 
sary that we shall cultivate character, but specially 
necessary that we shall feel our dependence on God, 
and believe that He is able and willing to grant our re- 
quests. How many of us feel our dependence on God 
for daily bread? We boast of our lands, our lields of 
grain, our granaries, our achievements. We are quite 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 85 

as boastful as the old Egyptians who said: "This 
river is ours; we made it." We need to hearken to 
the admonition of Moses to the people of Israel: 
"When thou hast eaten, and art full, then thou shalt 
bless the Lord thy God for the good land which He 
hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the 
Lord thy God, "^ * lest when thou hast eaten, and 
art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt there- 
in; and thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy 
silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou 
hast is multiplied; then thy heart be lifted up, and 
thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee 
forth out of the land of Egypt, ^ ^ and thou say 
in thine heart. My power, and the might of mine 
hand, hath gotten me this wealth: but thou shalt 
remember the Lord thy God; for it is He that giveth 
thee power to get wealth." We are so apt to magnify 
ourselves, that it is easy to forget the source of all our 
strength. It is necessary that we shall learn how very 
helpless we are. The soil, the seed, the rain, the dew, 
the sunshine, the genial spring-time, the ripening 
influences of summer-time, — all these are the gifts of 
God. Our strength, our brains, our inventive genius, 
— these, too, are God's creation. The trees, the ores, 
the rocks, the rivers, — these belong to the estate which 
God has given to us.. And what have we done to pro- 
cure our daily bread ? We have utilized God's soil; 
we have planted His seed; we have waited for Him to 
warm the soil, and to develop life from a germ of His 
own creation; we have waited for Him to rain on it, 
and to shine on it; we have depended on His power to 



86 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

keep the frosts, and floods, and pestilence in abeyance; 
we have simply mellowed the soil, and destroyed the 
weeds, and gathered the fruitage; and, too often have 
we failed to look up to the great Father with thank- 
fulness for these bountiful harvests. Thoughts like 
these will make us feel more deeply our dependence 
on God, and will quicken within us a desire to pray. 
When we turn attention to the Bread of Life, how 
much more may we be made to feel our dependence 
on God for that which feeds the soul, and endures 
unto eternal life ! 

Along with this sense of dependence, we must 
believe that God is willing to bless. It may seem an 
unnecessary task to attempt to prove that God is 
willing to save us. He gave His only begotten Son, 
that "whosoever believeth on him might not perish, 
but have everlasting life." God's willingness is seen 
in the character of his Son, the image of the Father. 
"Whosoever hath seen me hath seen the Father." 
Jesus was ever willing to bless. He turned no one 
empty away. The great throngs of suffering people 
pressed him day and night. With a great heart of 
sympathy he met a suffering and sin-burdened world. 
He healed their diseases, and forgave their sins, and 
soothed their fears, and breathed peace into their 
troubled and broken hearts, and sent a thrill of joy 
and gladness all over the land, from Dan to Beersheba. 
His whole life was a benison of peace, and his com- 
mission to the apostles took the whole world into the 
arms of his divine philanthropy. His invitation is 
today inimitably sweet: "Come unto me, all ye that 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 87 

are laboring and heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest." "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And 
let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is 
athirst, Come. And whosoever will, let him take the 
water of life freely." How often we witness scenes in 
religious meetings, in strange contrast with all these 
evidences of God's willingness to bless. Prayers are 
offered by men who would feel insulted if you called 
them skeptics, which seem to say that a sinner may 
be more willing to be saved than God is to save him. 
What a slander upon God's benign character, and 
what a travesty upon the life of the Son of God! 
How often, too, we find Christians who seem to believe 
that God is not now so willing to bless as Avhen they 
enjoyed their first love. God is the same yesterday, 
today, and forever. If we do not enjoy so much His 
peace, and His presence, it is not because He has 
changed, but because we have gone away from Him. 
We follow Jesus at too great a distance. We have 
gone out of the sunlight of his presence into the dark- 
ness of sin. We have neglected the Word, the house 
of God, the gates of praise, the closet, the communion 
with Christ and his people. We have failed to bring 
forth fruit. The oasis of flowers and fruit invites the 
rains, and the clouds pour down the copious showers; 
so also the dews of heavenly grace and blessing come 
down upon the fruitful life. "To him that hath, shall 
be given more abundantly." God is willing today, as 
ever, to bless, and though the clouds overhang, and 
the shadows deepen, and calamities come, God is true, 
and will "make all things work together for good to 



88 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

those who love Him, and who are called according to 
His purpose." 

We must also believe that God is able to answer 
our prayers. It is easy to say that God is omnipotent; 
and yet how prone we are to set limits to His power, — 
limits which destroy the fervency of our prayers. 
Let me invite attention to a careful consideration of 
this part of my subject. 

In all ages of Bible history, miracles are the 
special evidence of God's presence and power. Indeed, 
miracles are absolutely necessary to confirm a divine 
message. Ordinary facts and propositions require 
only ordinary confirmation. Extraordinary facts and 
propositions require extraordinary confirmation. 
When Moses met God at the burning bush, and 
received a commission to go down to Egypt and 
deliver His people, it was a very natural answ'er which 
he gave, when he said: "Behold, they will not believe 
me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, 
The Lord hath not appeared unto thee." Moses knew 
that he would have no trouble to convince men in 
Egypt of the truth concerning the ordinary events of 
his life. But this was an extraordinary event, and 
how natural for men to call it in question. So, "the 
Lord said to him. What is that in thine hand ? And 
he said, A rod. And he said. Cast it on the ground. 
And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; 
and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said 
unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the 
tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it 
became a rod in his hand: That they may believe 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 89 

that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abra- 
ham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath 
appeared unto thee." These miracles were to be his 
credentials. Miracles were not wrought, in any age, 
directly for the conversion of man, but to call atten- 
tion to the message as God's message. Moses would 
convince Egypt and Israel that he was God's messen- 
ger, that his message was God's message; and this he 
could not do without a miracle. When the people 
were convinced that his message was from God, they 
believed and obeyed it as such, and were saved. So, 
also, when Jesus came, he looked like a man, talked 
like a man, and to the people was simply the son of 
Joseph. But he claimed to be more, even the Son of 
the Highest. Such a claim would mark him simply as 
a lunatic, if he brought no other credentials than his 
word. He said, ''If I bear witness of myself, my 
witness is not true," — that is, can not be received as 
true. "The works which the Father hath given me to 
finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, 
that the Father hath sent me." 

The man who denies the possibility of a miracle, 
denies, in one and the same sentence, the possibility of 
an almighty God, and the possibility of revelation. For 
he who says there can be no supernatural act, says there 
can be no supernatural actor; and he who says there 
can be no supernatural act, also says there can be no 
divine confirmation of a revelation to man. All skep- 
ticism with reference to miracles, ends in atheism; and 
to admit that miracles were wrought by the servants of 
God, is also to admit that their word is God's, and that 



90 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

Jesus Christ is His Son. To me it is easier to believe 
a miracle possible than not to believe it. If I believe 
in the God who made the soil, the grape seed, the 
moisture, the light, the heat, and the thousands of 
influences by which that seed might germinate, and 
grow, and bloom, and bear fruit, — I ought to have no 
trouble in believing that Jesus spake to the water, 
and it blushed itself into wine. Moreover, knowing 
that miracles were wrought by Moses, by Jesus, by 
the apostles, and by others, for confirmation of the 
Word, it is easy to mark the period in which they 
were wrought. It is easy to see why miracles are not 
wrought now. The word of God once confirmed, is 
confirmed forever; and not until new revelation is 
needed, will there be a renewal of miracle-working 
power. 

When we have reached this conclusion, it is easy 
for some to say that, miracles having past, we now 
have nothing left us except the natural. The natural 
is a fixed quantity. Prayers do not change the nat- 
ural. God may have answered, and doubtless did 
answer, his servants of old, by working miracles; but 
now that the age and necessity of miracles is past, 
God allows nature to take care of itself. The seasons 
come and go in their ceaseless round of spring, sum- 
mer, autumn, winter; and the planets make their reg- 
ular revolutions about the sun, as God ordained from 
the beginning; and no fervency of praj er can change 
the one more than the other. Some of these men 
even claim that history has its spring, summer, autumn, 
winter, and so is continually repeating itself; and 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 91 

some modern scientists claim, that, if we could find 
the circle of man's descent, we could trace the steps 
around from the protoplasm, from which man origi- 
nated, to another protoplasm from which another race 
might spring. Some of these men believe in God, 
and accept the Bible as His word; but all such men 
believe that the benefit of prayer is its reflex influence 
upon the soul. They can not conceive of God as 
answering prayer. Such a view, however, makes non- 
sense of those Scriptures which command us to pray 
for kings, for those in authority, for all men, for each 
other, for the will of God to be done on earth as it is 
done in heaven. I can not conceive of God as com- 
manding me to pray, and then as saying: It makes 
no difierence, as to results, whether you pray or not. 
I might be persuaded to thank God, once for all, for 
the machine which turns out such certain and splendid 
blessings, but 1 could not be persuaded to pray. 

Now, between the miraculous, which is past, and 
the natural, which remains, there evidently is the 
providential, a belief in which is always antecedent to 
prayer. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, 
their belief in the providence of God is assumed. The 
whole prayer assumes that God sees and hears; that 
He is interested in our needs; that He is in sympathy 
With every good word and work; and that He is not 
only able, but willing, to grant our requests. But 
you ask. What is this providential ? If you go too far 
to one side, you are among the miracles; if you go too 
far to the other side, you are in the midst of the 
natural. What is your conception of the providen- 



92 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

tial? To this I answer: Here is a clock which repre- 
sents the natural. The inventor has utilized certain 
laws, and made a machine that does his will with cer- 
tainty. It will run till it runs down, unless the owner 
re-winds it. If the wheels were removed, the fiat of 
God might compel it to keep time without them. This 
would be a miracle. But without such miracle, the 
proprietor may put his hand on or under the weights, 
lengthen or shorten the pendulum, wind up one side 
or both, and, in many ways, without deranging its 
machinery in the least, bring out results which the 
clock would not work out itself. Indeed, the clock 
was constructed to be managed in this way. As this 
hand of the clock-maker, so is the hand of providence, 
the hand which God puts upon the weights of nature's 
time-keeper; the hand which may be felt in the move- 
ments of armies, in the halls of diplomacy, in the com- 
mercial progress of the ages, in the inventive genius 
of man; and all this, in answer to the prayers of his 
people, who, these many years, have prayed, "Thy 
will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." It is the 
hand of God, which may touch any one or all of ten 
thousand chords, and they will vibrate according to 
his purpose. 

"God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform; 
He plants his footsteps on the sea, 
And rides upon the storm." 

It may be the storm of passion, the storm of war, 
the storm of parliamentary debate, the storm of 
diplomacy; but God is there to make all things work 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 93 

together for good, to convert calamities into blessings, 
defeats into victories, crosses into crowns, shame into 
glory, humiliation into exaltation. What else can be 
the meaning of Christ's assuring words, when he said, 
"I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
world"? or, of the words of the seer, "The eyes of 
the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, 
to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose 
heart is perfect toward him" ? 

But one will ask. Is not this a mere theory ? Is 
there foundation for it in the word of God? 

The Bible is full of this doctrine, and abundant in 
its illustrations. Look at the story of Joseph. There 
is little in it that touches the miraculous. It was nat- 
ural for Jacob to love Joseph more than his other 
children. It was natural for Joseph to tell his dream 
about the sheaves of wheat, and about the sun, and 
the moon, and the eleven stars. It was just as nat- 
ural for his brothers to be envious. It was natural to 
nurse this envy into a conspiracy to take his life. 
And so, when he visited his brethren in Dothan, they 
attempted to carry this purpose into execution. Reu- 
ben, thinking to save him, proposed to cast him into a 
pit. This proposition was accepted, and for some rea- 
son Reuben stepped out. His flocks may have needed 
his person ai attention. When he returned, his broth- 
ers had sold Joseph to a company of Midianitish mer- 
chantmen. Somehow, these merchants came at the 
very nick of time — when Reuben was not present to 
interfere. Go back in the journey of these merchants, 
and you can imagine them exercising their freedom, 



94: PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

as to the hour and date of their starting. They may 
have been delayed a day or an hour; they may have 
been hindered a few minutes at a broken bridge ; but 
somehow they reached the camp of Joseph's brethren 
just at the right time. Fifteen minutes earlier or later 
might have changed the history of Joseph and his 
people. Follow him down into Egypt, into Potiphar's 
house, into the prison, out of the prison to a seat be- 
side the king; and from this on to the salvation of his 
father and brethren from starvation, and to their set- 
tlement in Goshen; and from this on to that historic 
panorama which was for all ages to illustrate the re- 
deemed church. Can you take God's hand out of any 
of it ? Not that God is the author of envy, and 
treachery, and falsehood, and murder; but that He, 
seeing the end from the beginning, knew how to over- 
rule the wrath of man to His praise; and He did it by 
His hand of Providence. 

The story of Esther is another illustration of the 
ways of Providence. It relates how a drunken king 
made unreasonable requests of Vashti the queen, and 
how she indignantly refused submission. The king 
became angry, and divorced her. This opened the 
way for another wife; and none but the handsomest 
would satisfy his demand. Some years before this, 
there had been left to Mordecai's care an orphan girl, 
a relative, remarkable for nothing so much as her 
beauty; and when the messengers^, who had been sent 
out to gather together the handsomest women of the 
empire, saw Esther, she was just blooming into Avom- 
anhood, and must accompany them to the palace. 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 95 

One by one these handsome women appeared before 
the king. Esther was selected for his bride and queen. 
There is nothing in all this unlike what had transpired 
many times before, and has transpired many times 
since. The parties seem to have been left to act with 
the completest freedom; and yet the hand of God was 
in all the history of this orphan child. Some months 
after her installation as queen, she was informed one 
da}^ that her uncle, Mordecai, was at the palace gate, 
in sackcloth and ashes. She knew that he was greatly 
troubled, and sent a messenger to ascertain the cause 
of his grief. He returned answer, that, at the in- 
stance of Haman, the king had decreed the indiscrim- 
inate slaughter of all the Jews then in the empire; 
and that she must otq in before the kino^ to intercede 
for them. She replied, that she could not do so with 
out jeopardizing her life. Mordecai returned answer: 
'^Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the 
-king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou 
altogether boldest thy peace at this time, then shall 
there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews 
from another place; but thou and thy father's house 
shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou 
art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" 
Esther replied, "Go, gather together all the Jews that 
are present in Shushan; and fast ye for me, and neither 
eat nor drink three days, night or day: 1 also, and my 
maidens, will fast likewise; and so will I go in before 
the king, which is not according to the law; and if I 
perish, I perish." Accordingly, she dressed herself in 
her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the 



96 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

king's house; and when he saw her, he held out the 
golden sceptre in approval of her presence. Who 
knoweth how much the prayer and fasting had to do 
with the melting of that obdurate heart ? Esther 
drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. 
"What wilt thou, Queen Esther? and what is thy re- 
quest ? and it shall be even given thee, to the half of 
the kingdom." She replied, "If it seem good unto 
the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto 
the banquet that 1 have prepared for him." She 
spread before him the richest of feasts; and again he 
asked her to present her petition. Again he is invited 
to a feast on the morrow; and then, with a woman's 
courage, she told him how the wicked Haman had in- 
stigated the destruction of her and her people; and 
she pleaded, "Let my life be given me at my petition, 
and my people at my request." Her request was 
granted in a counter-decree, which gave the Jews 
"light and gladness, and joy and honor." In all this 
story there is nothing that touches the marvelous, ex- 
cept the dream of the king, which led to the high 
honor conferred upon Mordecai. No one can read the 
story without recognizing the hand of God in it from 
beginning to end. Not that He is the author of drunk- 
enness and treachery, but He, seeing the end from 
the beginning, knew how to overrule the wrath of man 
to His praise; and how to "restrain the remainder of 
wrath," for the good of His people, and for His own 
glory. 

It would be easy to multiply illustrations from 
the Bible, and specially in the New Testament. Some 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. "97 

one will say, These are Bible stories, and we expect 
such things in a book attested by these credentials of 
God's authorship; but in secular history, we find no 
such evidences of God's providence. To this we may 
answer. Who knoweth whether this or that may be 
a special providence? We may not be able to speak 
with the same confidence of God's presence in secu- 
lar, as we do of his presence in sacred history; and 
yet, if we examine with care, w^e will find that many 
wonderful thinojs in secular history have on them the 
seal of God's providence. How could it be otherwise ? 
God has assured us that the kingdom of Christ shall 
fill the whole earth; that his word shall fill the earth, 
as the waters cover the sea; that the gates of hell shall 
not prevail against his church. He speaks of his peo- 
ple as "his portion," "his inheritance," — and dear to 
him as the "apple of his eye." His church is in this 
world. The current of the world has always been op- 
posed to her. "Persecutions, wave after wave, have 
rolled over her; yet she has stood as an immovable 
rock, amidst the angry floods. Civil power, philoso- 
phy, history, science, poetry, fashion, custom, wit, — 
have all in their turn been made engines to assail the 
impregnable fortress of Christianity. Intrigue has 
spared no wicked device to undermine her foundations; 
cruelty and unrelenting hate have poured out the vials 
of their wrath in the horrors of the Inquisition, or let 
loose the blood-hounds of war, to worry out and ex- 
terminate the saints of the Most High. Heresy, infi- 
delity, superstitions, fanaticism, misguided zeal, un- 
hallowed invasions on her doctrines and ordinances, 



98 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

and all spurious forms of Christianity, — have, in their 
turn, done what they could to prostrate the fair fabric 
of religion, or so to undermine confidence in her as to 
make her appear to the world of little worth. And 
what has been the result? The church has outridden 
every storm. She has passed unscathed by the light- 
nings of human violence. Like the oak that strikes 
its roots deeper, and clings to the rocky soil the more 
tenaciously, as the storm beats, and the tempest rages; 
the church has been strengthened amidst the rigors of 
persecution, and nourished by the blood of her mar- 
tyrs." * And is this result simply the fruitage of in- 
herent life and strength ? Or shall we find our better 
answer in the promise of Christ : "Lo, 1 am with -you 
alway, even unto the end of the world;" and in Paul's 
assurance, "All things work together for good to 
them that love God" ? 

If we go into details, we will find abundant illus- 
tration that God's hand has been ever present to lead 
His people, and to protect His church from destruc- 
tion. Take, for example, the history of Europe. 
There was a time when nothing seemed to be in the 
way of the conquest of Europe by the Moslem power. 
Had they succeeded, "the interpretation of the Koran 
had been the scholastic divinity of Oxford and Edin- 
burg; our cathedrals supplanted by gorgeous mosques, 
and our pulpits employed in demonstrating to a cir- 
cumcised people the truth of the apostleship and reve- 
lations of Mohammed. Such was the destiny that 
seemed to impend over all Europe, from the Baltic to 

* Read's "God in History." 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 99 

the Cyclades, when the standard of Islam floated over 
the walls of Tours." Here the Lord said: Thus far 
shalt thou come and no farther. "Europe must be 
saved from this impending danger. Charles Martel 
was the "hammer" in the hands of omnipotence to 
break the power of the foe, and save Europe to be a 
field for the development of God's truth." The Sara- 
cen army numbered three hundred and eighty -five 
thousand strong; but Charles met them near Toulouse, 
and, "after a bloody battle, the Saracens, in the close 
of the evening returned to their camp. In the disor- 
der and despair of the night, the various tribes of Ye- 
men and Damascus, of , Africa and Spain, were pro- 
voked to turn their arms against each other; the re- 
mains of their host were suddenly dissolved, and each 
emir consulted his safety by a hasty and separate 
flight." How like the sword of the Lord and of 
Gideon ! For nearly eight hundred years the Moors 
occupied Spain; but when the time came for the light 
of Bible truth to illumine the spiritual darkness of 
Europe, the Moors were driven out of Spain, and the 
Cross took the place of the Crescent. Before this 
everything seemed to "indicate that the Crescent 
would monopolize the vast resources of knowledge, of 
discoveries, inventions, improvements in arts, advance- 
ment in sciences, and of all the modern facilities for 
the propagation and establishment of religion which 
Christianity now enjoys." I have not time to refer 
to the providences by which England was saved from 
Roman Catholicism, and made the Protestant power 
of the world. The history of Philip of Spain, and of 



100 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

his "Invincible Armada" — an armament fitted out on 
purpose to make England bow to the pope; the his- 
tory of the Bloody Mary; the history of Cromwell; — 
all these abound in illustrations of England's provi- 
dential escape from thralldom to the Roman power. 
England's relation to Asia, England's controlling power 
in the congress of nations, England's protection of 
missionaries in India and other countries, England's 
fostering of civil and religious liberty, — all these indi- 
cate that God has been present in her history to raise 
up a people and a nation to work out his great 
designs. 

This country, too, is a child of providence. Its 
gates open to receive the whole world into an atmos- 
phere of civil and religious freedom. It has become 
the school where, more than anywhere else, men think 
and act for themselves. It has become a great light 
in a dark world. And that which gives purity to its 
atmosphere, and brilliance to its light is the word of 
the living God. The English-speaking world is essen- 
tially Protestant, and intensely missionary in all its 
energy and activity. God has molded English and 
American character for his own great purposes, as 
connected with the triumphs of the gospel of Christ. 

And who can doubt that God answered the pray- 
ers of our forefathers in the struggle with England ? 
and the prayers of four millions of bondmen in our 
late civil war ? God is the God of the right. Through 
a baptism of fire and of blood, this nation entered 
upon its noble career; and through a baptism of fire 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 101 

and blood, it cleansed its garments of every stain of 
human slavery. God heard the prayers of. liberty- 
loving men and women, and snapped the fetters which 
bound one man to another in an unnatural and unholy 
slavery, and bid the slave go free. In this God made 
the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder of 
wrath did he restrain. History will show that the late 
war with Spain was a blessing in disguise to Cuba, 
Porto Rico and the Philippines. The school house 
and the Bible will build up a new and better civiliza- 
tion for these priest-ridden people. 

You may say, that, in all these illustrations, we 
have God working out results worthy of Him, and on 
a magnificent scale; but has He any care over the life 
of the individual member of the church or society ? 
Jesus says: "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow 
not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet 
your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much 
better than they ?" Paul says, "All things work to- 
gether for good to them that love God, to them who 
are called according to his purpose." It is a sublime 
faith which can look up to God in the darkest hour, and 
say. Thou doest all things well. Sometimes the star- 
less night comes to the troubled soul; sometimes the 
clouds are too thick for our poor eyes to penetrate; 
sometimes the hand of trial and affliction seems too 
heavy to be borne; — and we wonder whether God 
knows or cares. In such an hour, it is a sublime faith 
that can say, "Though thou slay me, yet will I trust 
thee." A minister once called upon a broken-hearted 



102 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

widow, to show her the coDsolation of the divine 
word. She had been robbed of her husband at a time 
when he was the most needed for her comfort, and 
for the protection of her little children. And, as if 
misfortunes never come singly, she had been robbed 
of her oldest boy, on whose arm she had hoped to 
lean. Her heart was crushed with grief; and she 
almost doubted that God would be the husband of the 
widow, and the father of her orphan children. The 
minister labored in vain to comfort her. Seeing some 
needle-work upon her lap, he suddenly inquired, 
"What is this, madam, that you are working at?" 
She replied: "This, sir, is some fancy needle-work 
that I am doing to busy my thoughts, so that I may 
not dwell too much upon my grief." "And," said he, 
"you are making awkward work of it. See how these 
threads are all crossing each other without symmetry 
or beauty." "Oh," said she, turning it over instantly, 
"you are looking on the wrong side. See there now, 
how beautiful the stitching, how symmetrical the 
design, how neatly all the stitches fit in their proper 
places!" "And that," said he, "is just what I have 
been trying to show you. You are looking at the 
wrong side of God's providence. Down here the 
threads seem to cross each other, apparently without 
reference to design or symmetry; but on the other 
side the hand of God doeth all things well." You may 
say this is a great mystery; and so it is, "for now we 
see through a glass darkly." But there comes a time 
when we shall know even as we are known. 



PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 103 

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
But trust him for his grace; 
Behind a frowning providence 
He hides a smiling face. 

His purposes will ripen fast, 

Unfolding every hour; 
The bud may have a bitter taste. 

But sweet will be the flower. 

Blind unbelief is sure to err, 

And scan his work in vain; 
God is his own interpreter, 

And he will make it plain." 

"Effectual fervent" is the rendering of but a 
single word in the original. A literal rendering would 
be, "The inwrought prayer of the righteous man 
availeth much." It is the prayer that springs from 
the heart, — the sincere prayer, — that avails with God. 
Such prayers are born only of thoughtfulness. We 
must feel a deep anxiety concerning the things for 
which we pray. There must be a "travailing of the 
soul." As Jacob wrestled with the angel till the 
break of day, and would not let him go without the 
blessing; so, also, must we come to God, with that 
earnestness that will command his blessing. Do we 
want the world converted? Do we want our children 
saved? Do we want the Lord's blessing upon his 
church and his truth ? If so, we may pray with that 
earnestness that will avail with God. When Zion 
travails, children will be born unto her. There is a 
logical connection between such prayers and our own 
activity in the direction of our petitions. Do we 



104 PRAYER AND PROVIDENCE. 

desire to live for God? Do we desire to escape every 
temptation ? Do we anxiously seek a higher conse- 
cration to our work ? If so, we may pray with every 
assurance that God will "keep us by his power," 
"make a way of escape for us," and renew us day by 
day, so that "we may run and not be weary, walk and 
not faint." 



REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 



"For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with cor- 
ruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain conversation 
received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious 
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 
— I Peter, i: i8, 19. 

nHOSE who have read the New Testament, even 
carelessly, have not failed to note the several 
words which are used to set forth the work of Christ. 
His work is called Salvation, rescuing the world from 
a perishing condition. Justification — a forensic term, 
denoting the act of a judge who declares one innocent, 
who has been accused at his bar. God, the righteous 
Judge, forgives the sinner for Christ's sake and says, 
"I will remember your sins no more." Sanctification, 
— a sacred term, denoting a separation from the world, 
and a setting apart to a holy service. These words 
apply alike to all Christians. Some there are who 
think they describe wholly different manifestations of 
God's grace, whereas they are simply different points 
of view. Were 1 to write three different descriptions 
of a battle, from three different points of view, there 
would be much in each of these descriptions, common 
to them all, and much, in each, not found in the others; 
but all would be alike descriptions of the battle. So 
also are these several words the different stand-points 
from which we may view the work of Christ. 



106 REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 

We may also view the work of Christ from the 
stand-point of redemption. Redeem means to pur- 
chase back again that which has been sold or forfeited. 
We use it in this sense today when we say that a man 
has redeemed his estate that had been sold for debt; 
or of the man who had forfeited his standing in the 
community, but has conducted himself in such a man- 
ner as to be restored to public confidence. Under the 
law of Moses, the land of promise was divided among the 
tribes, and subdivided among the families. This fam- 
ily estate could not be sold away from the family. 
They could not make deeds like ours, "warranting 
and defending forever." However, a Jew might be- 
come indebted to another, and lose the use of his 
estate for a time. But a kinsman had the privilege 
of redeeming it for him, at any time, or some happy 
turn in his affairs might enable him to do so; and both 
failing, it was restored to the owner in the year of 
Jubilee, by virtue of the statute. Nor was a Jew to 
rule with rigor over his brother. He might become 
poor and be compelled to sell himself for debt, yet his 
kinsmen could redeem him at any time; and, failing to 
do so, the poor man was restored to liberty by virtue 
of the statute in the year of Jubilee. (Lev. xxv.) 
The enactment concerning the year of Jubilee was a 
national bankruptcy law. It was a year of universal 
rejoicing, specially with those who had lost posses- 
sions or liberty by misfortune — a fitting type of the 
Jubilee of which we sing: 

"The year of Jubilee has come, 
Return you ransomed sinner home." 



REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 107 

We see also, in this kinsman redeemer, a type of 
the great Redeemer who became bone of our bone 
and flesh of our flesh, that he might purchase redemp- 
tion for us. Jesus Christ was son of man, as well as 
Son of God, — mysterious union of humanity and 
Divinity. He was born of woman, and was nourished 
and developed into manhood as are the children of 
men; but the angel said, ''He shall be called the Son 
of the Highest." He ate food to nourish his body, 
and created food like God. He slept as we sleep, — 
and sleep was to him "tired nature's sweet restorer" 
as it is to us, — and yet he awoke from his slumbers 
and rebuked the winds and waves, and they obeyed 
the voice of God. He died as the malefactors died by 
his side; and he came forth from the grave, and was 
declared the Son of God. 

What was lost tliat made redemption necessary f 
Man, as God created him, was sinless — innocent — 
and, because of this innocence, Adam had a sweet and 
intimate communion with his Divine Father. He walked 
and talked with God. He had a home — a delightful 
Eden — with sufficient employment to give him enjoy- 
ment. The tree of life put it in the power of our 
first parents to live forever. They sinned. Sin is the 
transgression of the Divine law. They listened to the 
voice of the Tempter and fell. Sin separates the soul 
from God. Isaiah says, "Your iniquities have separ- 
ated between you and your God, and your sins have 
hid His face from you, that He will not hear." This 
must be so in the very nature of things. There can 
be no affinity between sin and holiness, between good 



108 REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 

and evil, between God and the devil. Separation 
from God is death; union with God is life. Man by 
sin lost life spiritual, and necessarily, life eternal. 
Sin entered into the world, and death by sin. "Dust 
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Adam lost 
his innocence, his communion with God, his home and 
life — temporal, spiritual and eternal. This loss was 
entailed upon his children. Some there are who think 
this a manifest injustice. The same thing happens 
today. If your great grandfather lost his estate, it was 
lost to your grandfather and to your father; is lost to 
you and your children, and will be lost to your grand- 
children after you. It is the logical sequence of your 
great grandfather's misfortune. Jesus Christ came to 
restore to the human family what had been lost by 
sin — life and all that life means. He who redeems 
our life redeems us. 

From whom or from what are we redeemed f 
Not from the devil. We may be saved from his 
leadership, but not redeemed from him. To suppose 
that sinners are redeemed from Satan, is to suppose that 
God recognizes Satan's right to rule over us. If you 
have bought my estate at forced sale, and I have a right 
to tender you redemption money, within a certain time, 
the very tender of this money is an acknowledgment 
that you are, for the time being, the rightful owner of 
this estate. God has never recognized that the devil 
has any right to us. He is everywhere treated as a 
usurper, and is without any standing in the Court of 
Heaven. God has never made any compromises with 
Satan, and never will. 



•redeemed by the blood of CHRIST. 109 

But death is the rightful penalty for sin. It is 
death which has taken our life; and Death is that from 
which we are redeemed. The prophet Hosea said, "I 
will ransom them from the power of the grave. I 
will redeem them from Death. O, grave, I will be 
thy destruction." (Hosea xiv : 24.) 

There are those who think that "eternal death" 
is a penalty out of harmony with the character of the 
all-merciful God. But not so. We do not know 
w^hat a legislature thinks of crimes, except as we read 
it in the penalties. If the legislature of Ohio should 
make hanging the penalty for horse stealing, and im- 
prisonment the penalty for murder, the people would 
say the legislature thinks horse stealing a greater 
crime than murder. Your boys read you the same 
way. You tell them it is wrong to go fishing on the 
Lord's day, and therefore they should not go. But 
they go and come homo with a nice string of fish, and 
you meet them at the gate with a smile, and relish the 
meal. The boys say, "Father does not care about the 
Lord's day," and they are right. Had you cared a 
little, you would have rebuked a little; had you cared 
much, the rebuke would have been severe; had you 
cared more, the boys might have felt the virtue of 
Solomon's rod. Your conscience will allow you to 
dictate a punishment somewhat in the ratio of your 
abhorrence of the crime committed. Now lift your 
mind up to God, and remember that he is infinitely 
holy, and must have an infinite abhorrence of sin, — 
and therefore his conscience will approve an infinite 
punishment for sin. Nothing else would be like God. 



110 REDEEI^ED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 

Be careful how you treat God's Word when he says, 
"The wages of sin is death;" "If you die in your sins, 
whither I go you can not come." When you strike 
a blow at this, you strike a blow at the purity and 
holiness of God, and weaken my reverence for Him as 
God, and lay the foundation for my disobedience and 
rebellion. In fact you have the same "never" that 
God has. If you have a lovely daughter, and some 
wretched vagabond wants to pay to her his devotions, 
you write over your door "never;" — and that '-^never'^^ 
will stay there as long as you have a right mind. That 
is the "never" that God has. Why is it worse in God 
than it is in you ? 

By what are we redeemed f 

"Not with silver and gold, but with the precious 
blood of Christ." The Lord said unto Moses, "I will set 
My face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut 
him off from among My people: for the life of the flesh 
is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar 
to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood 
that maketh atonement for the soul. * * Ye shall 
eat the blood of no manner of flesh, for the life of all 
flesh is the blood thereof." (Lev. xvii : 10-14.) The 
blood is the life. "Jesus Christ gave his life a ransom 
for many." Paul says, "He gave his life a ransom for 
all, to be testified in due time;" "He gave himself for us 
that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify 
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." 
The price was paid to death in honor and vindication 
of the Divine law; and the price paid was life — life for 
life. Life is the only possible ransom for life. All 



REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Ill 

the bloody sacrifices of the old law were types of this 
great Sacrifice of the life of the Son of Man, on the 
cross. And what a price was this ! 

God sets a high value on human life. "Surely 
your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of 
every beast will I require it; and at the hand of man; 
at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the 
life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man 
shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made 
he man." (Gen. ix : 5, 6.) The law of Moses threw 
every possible safeguard around human life. Satan 
came near telling the truth when he said, "All that a 
man hath will he give for his life." Self-preservation 
is the first law of nature. We set a high value on our 
poor, sinful lives. Gold, silver, treasures, honor, 
earthly glory — all these will we give to live only a few 
hours. "My kingdom for a moment of time," said a 
dying queen. I remember, when only a lad, the gold 
fever of 1849. Thousands of people braved the hard- 
ships of a long and perilous journey over unwatered 
plains, and over rugged mountains, to seek for Califor- 
nia gold. They "sweat and bled for gold;" many suc- 
ceeded, and "hugged the treasure at midnight when 
good men slept." You would have thought gold was 
their god. They dreamed of the comforts they could 
bring to wife and children, when their cofiers were 
filled. A company of such men took passage on a 
ship homeward bound around Cape Horn. One day 
they heard the alarm of fire, — and, soon after, the 
captain said, "The vessel is doomed. You strong men 
must make your way through the surf to that land," 



112 REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 

pointing to an island. "These boats must be reserved 
for the women, children and helpless men." These 
strong men had gold in their belts, and great nuggets 
of gold in their trunks, but what were these when life 
was at stake? They threw all this wealth away for 
the bare chance of making a safe landing. Gold was 
in one scale, and life in the other, and life outweighed 
it all. And this instinct, that seeks ever to preserve 
life, is common to men. It is wisely so. God put us 
into this world to live. We all want to live, sinner 
and Christian alike. I have no sympathy with those 
old songs, which represent Christians as standing on 
Jordan's banks, and casting a wishful eye to the life 
and glory on the other side. God has for every 
human being a mission, and he is cowardly who wants 
to die before God's good time. 

But if our poor, sinful lives are so valuable, what 
estimate must we put upon the life of the Son of Man. 
When we die it will be because sin entered into the 
world and death by sin. When a little child dies, we 
try to comfort the parental heart by saying, "It was 
taken from the evil to come." But why should Jesus 
Christ die? He knew no sin. Death was not a 
penalty for his sinning. He went about all his days 
doing good. For him death was not a fortunate relief 
from some evil to come. Why should he die ? There 
is no answer for this except the answer of scripture; 
"It behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the 
dead the third day, and that repentance and remission 
of sins should be preached in his name among all 
nations;" "He gave his life a ransom for man}^;" 



REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 313 

"He died for our sins;" "He was wounded for our 
transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastise- 
ment of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes 
we are healed; and the Lord hath laid on him the 
iniquity of us all." 

"What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the 
whole world and lose his own soul ?" Clearly Jesus 
valued one soul as worth more than all the world 
besides; and this price — this precious life of Christ, 
worth ten thousand such worlds as this — he freely gave 
as a ransom for human souls. If God values a human 
soul at such an immense price, surely we ought to 
listen to His pleading, when He cries, "Turn ye, turn 
ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die?" 

How are we redeemed hy the hlood of Christ f 

The apostle John speaks of Jesus as the "Lamb 
slain from the foundation of the world." Peter says he 
was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world. 
John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God that 
taketh away the sin of the world;" and when redemp- 
tion was finished, ten thousand times ten thousand 
angels sang, "Worthy is the Lamb to receive power 
and riches, and wisdom and strength and honor and 
glory and blessing." 

The Lord said to Israel, "The life of the flesh is 
the blood. I have given it you upon the altar to 
make atonement for your souls, for it is blood that 
maketh atonement for your soul." All the bloody 
sacrifices from the fall of man to the close of the 
Mosaic dispensation, were types of the great Sacrifice 
on Calvary. The shedding of blood, in these sacri- 



114 KEDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 

fices, had regard altogether to sin, and was suited 
only to a guilty race. Paul says, "Without shedding 
of blood is no remission." This is God's thought, not 
man's. This has always been foolishness to men. "To 
them that perish the preaching of the cross is foolish- 
ness, but unto us who are saved it is the power of God"; 
and modern foolishness says the bloody sacrifices of 
the law were of human origin. 

The great day of annual atonement embodied in 
itself the essential elements of the whole Jewish system 
of expiatory sacrifices, and foreshadowed, in wonder- 
ful detail, the true Atonement that was afterward to 
appear. It was a day of great solemnity, the only 
day of the j^ear when the High Priest could enter the 
Most Holy Place. First of all,' he toade atonement for 
himself and his house, sprinkling the blood of a bullock 
upon the mercy-seat seven times. Then he took two 
goats, and presented them before the Lord, and cast 
lots upon the two goats, one for the Lord, as a sin- 
offering, the other to serve as the scape-goat. He of- 
fered the one for a sin-offering for the whole people, 
sprinkling the blood upon and before the mercy-seat, 
and then laid both hands upon the head of the live 
goat, and "confessed over him all the iniquities of the 
children of Israel, and all their transgressions, and all 
their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat," 
and sent him away into the wilderness. (Lev. xvi.) 

Dr. Adam Clark says, "It is allowed, on all hands, 
that this ceremony, taken in all its parts, pointed out 
the Lord Jesus dying for our sins, and rising 
again for our justification, being put to death in the 



REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 115 

flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. Two goats are 
brought, one to be slain as a sacrifice for sin, the other 
to have the transgressions of the people confessed over 
his head, and then to be sent away into the wilderness, 
representing the bearing away of the sins of the peo- 
ple. The two goats made only one sacrifice; yet only 
one goat was slain. One animal could not point out 
both the divine and human nature of Christ; nor show 
both his death and resurrection ^ ^ The divine and 
human natures of Christ were essential to the grand 
expiation; yet the human nature alone suffered; for 
the divine nature could not suffer. ^ "^ The goat 
that was slain, prefigured his human nature and its 
death; the goat that escaped pointed out his resurrec- 
tion." Paul says, "We have received the atonement 
or reconciliation through Jesus Christ," and that, "If, 
when w^e were enemies, we were reconciled to God by 
the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled, 
we shall be saved by his life." (Rom, v : 10.) 

In his letter to the Hebrews, he draws the contrast 
between the annual atonement of the old covenant and 
the one atonement of the new. Under the old covenant, 
the high priest was sinful, and needed to make atonement 
for his own sins. Under the new covenant, the High 
Priest, Jesus Christ, is "holy, harmless, undefiled and 
separate from sinners." Under the old covenant, the 
high priest entered the Most Holy place once a year, 
and every year there was a remembrance of sins, be- 
cause it was not possible for the blood of bulls and 
goats to take away sins. These sacrifices were only a 
shadow of things to come. Moreover, this priesthood 



116 REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 

was changeable by reason of death. Under the new 
covenant, the High Priest appeared, once for all, in 
the end of the Jewish age, to put awa}^ sin by the sac- 
rifice of himself — by his own blood — and has entered 
into heaven itself to appear in the presence of God 
for us; and having made one sacrifice for sin, forever 
sits on the right hand of God — an unchangeable 
priesthood, — "able to save unto the uttermost all who 
come to God by him," "seeing he ever liveth to 
make intercession for them," and "is merciful to their 
unrighteousness and their sins, and remembers their 
iniquities no more." (Heb. vii-viii-ix.) 

In his letter to the Church at Rome he says, "Be- 
ing justified freely by His grace, through the redemp- 
tion that is in Jesus Christ, whom God set forth to be 
a propitiation, through faith, by his blood, to show 
his righteousness, because of the passing over of the 
sins done aforetime in the forbearance of God; for the 
showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present 
season; that he might himself be just and the justifier 
of him that hath faith in Jesus." In what manner 
this joyful event has been accomplished by Christ's 
death, is no where declared in the Scriptures, but the 
meaning is clear, that the death of Christ has made the 
exercise of mercy consistent with God's character as 
the righteous, moral governor of the universe. Again 
the apostle says, "Sin entered into the world, and 
death through sin, and so death passed unto all, for 
that all sinned." That is, they are involved in the 
consequences of Adam's sin. "Through one trespass 
the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; 



REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 117 

even so, through one act of righteousness, the free 
gift came unto all men to justification of life. For as 
through one man's disobedience, the many (all) were 
made sinners, even so, through the obedience of the 
one, shall the many be made righteous." McKnight 
says, "The future tense is used here to signify that all 
the generations of mankind, from Adam to the end of 
the world, have been, are, and shall be, in this manner, 
constituted righteous." That is to say, the condemna- 
tion which came to the children of men, on account of 
Adam's transgression, w^hatever its nature, was for- 
ever canceled by Christ's obedience unto death. It 
was a universal salvation. 

This "sin in Adam," was, by many of the 
fathers, called "original sin," and constituted every 
child of Adam a sinner. Affectionate parents were 
easily persuaded to have their children baptized 
for the remission of this original sin. This is the 
origin of infant baptism. These good men over- 
looked the fact that the death of Christ arrested 
judgment on account of original sin. Jesus said of 
little children, "of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
We are not alienated from God on account of Adam's 
sin, nor will we be judged on account of Adam's sin. 
"Every one will receive the things done in his body, 
according to that he hath done, whether good or bad." 
The death of Christ placed the whole world upon the 
plane of personal responsibility. "The axe is laid un- 
to the root of the tree, and every tree that bringeth 
not forth fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the 
fire." Every man from Adam to the last child born, 



118 REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 

will appear before Christ to be judged according to 
the life he has lived. 

How is the sinner redeemed from death f 
By being redeemed from sin. Paul says, "In 
whom we have redemption, through his blood, even 
the forgiveness of sins;" "He gave himself for us, 
that he might redeem us from all iniquity." Peter 
says we are redeemed, "from our vain manner of life." 
To this end, the blood of Christ is "the blood of the 
new covenant, shed for many for the remission of 
sins." The old covenant was sealed with the blood 
of calves and goats; the new covenant with the blood 
of Christ. The Israelites became covenantees of the 
old covenant by pledging themselves to obedience: 
"All that the Lord hath said will we do and be obedi- 
ent." This brought them within the scope of all the 
covenanted blessings. A covenant is a bargain — a 
coming together in agreement. The terms of cove- 
nants between men may be made by both parties, but 
in covenants between God and man, God makes all the 
terms, and hence the word "testament" is an appro- 
priate rendering. The Israelites understood this. 
They did not ask Moses to read the covenant with a 
view to modifying any of its conditions. "All that 
the Lord hath said will we do and be obedient," indi- 
cates that they believed God had a right to com- 
mand; it was theirs to obey. The old covenant was 
given fifty days after the slaying of the first Paschal 
lamb; the new covenant fifty days after the slaying of 
the great Antitype of the Paschal lamb. Peter an- 
nounced the conditions of the new covenant in reply 



REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, 119 

to the question, '^Men and brethren, what shall we 
do ?" Here was the spirit of their fathers, recogniz- 
ing the "all authority" of Jesus Christ, and their duty 
to obey. Peter said, "Repent and be baptized every 
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the re- 
mission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Spirit." Three thousand gladly received his 
word and were baptized. They became covenantees 
of the new covenant, and God granted unto them re- 
demption through Christ's blood, even the forgiveness 
of sins — and "remembered their sins no more." Paul 
says, "God reconciled us to Himself through Christ, 
and gave unto us (Apostles) the ministry of reconcilia- 
tion, to w4t, that God was in Christ reconciling the 
world unto Himself, not reckoning unto them their 
trespasses; and hath committed unto us the word of 
reconciliation. We are ambassadors, therefore, on be- 
half of Christ, as though God were entreating by us; 
we beseech you, on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled 
to God." This was Peter's voice on the day of Pente- 
cost, and three thousand people were reconciled to 
God, and entered into covenant relation with Him, 
and "continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching 
and fellowship^ in the breaking of bread and in pray- 
ers." John exhorted the children of God not to sin, 
but "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the 
Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous; and he is the pro- 
pitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also 
for the whole world." "If we confess our sins, he is 
faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unriofhteousness." 



120 REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. 

Finally^ what is restored to us hy this redemption? 

1. We get back innocence. "I will forgive your 
sins and remember them no more." 2. Communion 
with God; for sin no longer separates from God, — and 
this is spiritual life in this world, and eternal life in 
the next. "He that heareth my word, and believeth 
on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall 
not come into condemnation." 3. Home. We are 
children of God, and if children, heirs of God and joint 
heirs with Jesus Christ. We have an "inheritance 
incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." 
We look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein 
dwelleth righteousness, and a city whose maker and 
builder is God." 4. Our bodies from the grave. "We 
shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a mo- 
ment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; 
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be 
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For 
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
mortal must pat on immortality. So when this cor- 
ruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mor- 
tal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought 
to pass the saying that is written. Death is swallowed 
up in Victory. O death where is thy sting? O grave 
where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin ; and 
the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be to God 
who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 



THE GREATER WORKS. 



"Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or 
else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily I say 
unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do 
also: and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto 
my Father." — J no. xiv : ii, 12. 



nN general we may classify the work of the 
Lord as follows: 

1. To provide the way of salvation. This was 
the chief end of his personal ministry. 

2. To convince the world that the way of salva- 
tion has been provided. 

3. To persuade the people everywhere to accept 
and walk in the way of salvation. 

These last two, the work to which he commis- 
sioned his apostles, and for the full accomplishment 
of which he depends upon his Church. 

I. His personal Ministry. His personal atten- 
tion was given very largely to setting forth the proof 
that he was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, 
and therefore authorized to provide the way of salva- 
tion. You note the large prominence which John 
gives to this, when he says, "And many other signs 
truly did Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, which 
are not written in this book: but these are written 
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God, and that believing ye might have life through 
his name." 



122 THE GKEATER WORKS. 

In this 11th verse we have two witnesses in sup- 
port of this claim — his Word and his Works. "Believe 
me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me." 
An honest man can always look you in the face and say, 
Believe me; much more could Jesus Christ. He had 
a right to be believed. He had lived among men in 
such a manner as to be entirely worthy of their confi- 
dence. He said, "Though I bear record of myself, 
yet ray record is true, for I know whence I came and 
whither I go." 

In another sermon I have shown how abundantly 
the matter and manner of his teaching harmonize with 
this exalted claim. He believed that he was the Son 
of God. If he was not, he was either deluded or was 
deluding others. He was conscious of Divinity. He 
did not talk like the prophets, though his wonderful 
life impressed many of the people that he was some 
great^prophet sent back to them from the grave. He 
spake everywhere as one having authority. The 
fingers of all the prophets had pointed forward to the 
Messiah. Jesus boldly said, "I am he that was to 
come." "Come to me, take my yoke, learn of me." 
"I am the way, the truth, the life." "You believe in 
God, believe also in me." That is, believe in me just 
as you believe in God. 

"Or else believe in me for the very works' sake." 
"The works which the Father hath given me to do, 
the same works that I do bear witness that the Father 
hath sent me." These works proved that he was the 
Christ, the Son of God. He talked like God, and not 
like man. He wrought like God, and not like man. 



THE GREATER WORKS. 123 

"Believe me for the very works' sake."" He cast out 
demons, healed diseases, fed the multitudes, walked 
upon the sea of Galilee, opened the eyes of the blind, 
raised the dead, and compelled thoughtful men, like 
Nicodemus, to admit that he wrought miracles, and 
therefore was a "Teacher come from God." 

But while he was setting forth these proofs that 
he was the Christ, the Son of God, he also set himself 
forth as a personal Savior. There were two things 
concerning himself that he made very prominent in 
his miracles: First ^ I am able to help you unto the 
uttermost; Second^ I am willing to help you unto 
the uttermost. Jesus wrought no miracles simply 
for the sake of the miracle, much less for the sake of 
display. It is always characteristic of imposition to 
work miracles for the sake of display. Joseph Smith, 
the Mormon impostor, would have some one pretend 
to die, so he could come and raise him from the dead, 
and have something to boast about. Spiritism is fond 
of making marvelous displays, with the light turned 
down or turned out. Jesus wrought no miracles in 
this spirit. Hi? miracles, though wrqught to con- 
vince men that he Avas the Son of God, were born of 
his sympathy for the sad and needy. They were 
expressive of love, as well as power. When he met 
the widow of Nain following her only son to the grave, 
the disciples saw compassion in his tearful eyes, and 
in his bearing in the presence of this grief-stricken 
woman; and heard it in the tones of his voice; and the 
historian put it on record, — "He had compassion" — 
and, because he had compassion, he said "Weep not," 



124 THE GREATER WORKS. 

and touched the bier, and said, "Young man arise. 
The young man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus 
delivered him to his mother." No wonder the people 
said, "God hath visited His people." Here was the all- 
pitying heart, and the all-powerful hand. 

It is said of the disciples of John, that they took 
up his body and buried it, and then went and told Je- 
sus. There was no heart that could pity like his — no 
voice that could speak words of comfort like his. 
Mary and Martha were surrounded with the best of 
human comfort&f^but when they learned that Jesus 
was come, they left all these behind, and met him near 
the village, exclaiming, "Lord, if thou hadst been here 
our brother had not died." "Jesus wept" — wept be- 
cause his heart was touched. The people said, "Be- 
hold, how he loved him." How comforting, in an 
hour like this, to have friends whose tears tell us that 
their hearts are full of tenderness and pity. But Je- 
sus could do more than weep. He stood before the 
grave of Lazarus, and lifted up his eyes, and said, 
"Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me; and 1 
know that Thou hearest me always, but because of the 
people which stand by I said it, that they may believe 
that Thou hast sent me." And then with a loud voice 
he cried, "Lazarus, come forth," and Lazarus came 
forth in obedience to the voice of God. Here the 
miracle was clearly the sign-manual of the Almighty 
Father, certifying that Jesus was His Son; but along 
with it were manifest the love and sympathy which 
filled his heart. No wonder his name and fame spread 
everywhere. The story of his love and power was 



THE GREATER WORKS. 125 

borne on the wings of human friendship and sympa- 
thy, and everywhere was heard with interest and 
eagerness. 

I have sometimes imagined the leper coming to 
him. He has been stoned from the gates of the city. 
He has not been permitted to associate with his own 
family. He has rags and ashes on his head, symbols 
of his uncleanness. His skin is white as snow. His 
joints are full of decay. He feels that he is going 
slowly, but surely, to the grave. He is not allowed to 
draw nigh to Jesus. He stands afar off, and cries, 
"Thou son of David, have mercy on me." "I will. 
Be thou clean," is the answer to this prayer that came 
from the inmost heart. Immediately the skin takes 
on its natural color; and the joints grow nimble as in 
youth. The old elastic spring is in his step, and the 
health glow on his cheek. With one burst of grati- 
tude to his benefactor, he turns and hurries homeward, 
telling of Jesus all the way. His wife lookb out of 
the window at his coming. — He is running. — "Can it 
be my beloved" ? and soon she is in his arms, and he 
is telling of Jesus, who spake only the word and he 
was healed. And do you suppose they could keep 
this from their neighbors who had mourned with them 
so many years? And did the neighbors keep this 
wonderful fact to themselves ? One ran down the 
valley to tell a blind friend about it; another further 
down the valley to tell a palsied man about it; another 
mounted his horse and rode fifty miles to tell a dying 
brother about it, and yet another climbed over the 
rugged mountains that very night to tell a fever- 



126 THE GREATER WORKS. 

stricken friend about it; and wheresoever the tidings 
went, these two things were said of him: He is able 
to help you. He is willing to help you to the utter- 
most, for he turns no one away empty. 

Now this was gospel — good news. And what 
have we more prominent in the gospel of Christ than 
these two things ? In Corinth, Paul preached, "first 
of all", "how that Christ died for our sins according 
to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that 
he rose again the third day according to the Script- 
ures." "He died for our sins." Couple with this 
Christ's saying, "Greater love hath no man than this, 
that a man lay down his life for his friends," and 
Paul's words, "God commendeth His love toward us, 
in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 
Our hearts have been touched with the story of David 
and Jonathan — whose "souls were knit together," and 
whose love for each other "was wonderful, surpassing 
the love of women." Who has read the story of Da- 
mon and Pythias, each willing to die for the other, 
without being touched by it ? Who has read of the 
mother, found in railroad wreckage, with her babe 
pressed close to her pulseless heart, as if to say. My 
life has been given for my child, without being 
touched by it? History furnishes many illustrations 
of devotion, even unto death, of husband for wife, 
wife for husband, parent for child, child for parent, 
brother for brother, and friend for friend, but God 
commendeth Christ's love toward us, in that, while we 
were his enemies, he died for us. He died for those 
who put on his brow the cruel crown of thorns; for 



THE GREATER WORKS. 127 

those who unjustly condemned him; for those who 
robed him in mockery; for those who drove the cruel 
nails through hands and feet; for those who refused 
him his last dying request; and, at an hour when 
you might have expected vindictive words from hu- 
man lips, he cried, "Father, forgive them, they know 
not what they do." This dying for our sins, and for 
such sinners, is the highest possible proof of his wil- 
lingness to save. And when the preacher went on to 
declare his resurrection from the dead, he gave the 
highest evidence of his power to save. The one fact 
tells of his overwhelming love, the other of his al- 
mighty power, so that in all ages we can confidently 
sing, 

' ' Come to Jesus ! Come to Jesus ! 
He is able, he is willing, doubt no more." 

But there was atonement also in this death. I 
will not attempt to give a philosophy of atonement, 
though I believe there is a profound philosophy in 
it. Paul calls it the wisdom of God. It is enough 
that infinite wisdom has declared it to be a "behooval." 
"It behooved Christ to sufier." Somehow the death of 
Christ opened up the way of salvation — made repent- 
ance available for salvation, and forgiveness possible 
with God. Christ suflered that "Repentance and 
remission of sins might be preached among all nations." 
His was not the death of a martyr. "No man taketh 
my life from iue. I lay it down myself. I lay it 
down that I might take it again. I have power to lay 
it down, and I have power to take it again." This 
is not the language of a martyr. "He gave himself a 



128 THE GREATER WORKS. 

ransom for many.'- "He bore our sins in his own 
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should 
live unto righteousness — by whose stripes we are 
healed." "God sent his own Son in the likeness of 
sinful flesh, to condemn sin in the flesh." "He hath 
made him who knew no sin to be a sin-ofiering for us, 
that we might be made the righteousness of God 
through him." "Christ hath appeared to put away 
sin by the sacrifice of himself." "He was made a 
little lower than the angels, that he might taste death 
for every man." These, and kindred passages, point to 
Jesus as the "Lamb of God that taketh away the sin 
of the world." 

Darius could not save Daniel, and at the same 
time maintain the dignity and majesty of his govern- 
ment, because the constitution of his realm made the 
king's decree unchangeable; — and therefore he con- 
signed him to death and the grave, and "sealed the 
stone laid upon the mouth of the den of lions with his 
own signet, and with the signet of his lords, that the 
purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel." 
It was, as far as Darius and his government were con- 
cerned, an inexorable necessity. His only hope was 
that the God of Daniel would deliver him, and in this 
he was not disappointed. Man's extremity is God's 
opportunity. 

There is no wisdom nor justice in clothing a man, 
be he king or pope, with power to issue an unchange- 
able decree. But God is himself the Constitution of 
the Universe. He is all-wise, all-good and unchange- 
able. His decree is, in the very nature of things, an 



THE GREATER WORKS. 129 

unchangeable decree. "The soul that sinneth, it shall 
die," is an unchangeable decree. From this stand- 
point redemption seems impossible. But God found 
a way to exercise mercy, and still be just; a way to 
pardon iniquity, and still impress the intelligencies of 
the Universe with the exceeding sinfulness of sin; a 
way to make the world know that he loved men, and 
yet hated sin. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in 
the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted 
up '^ '^ for God so loved the world that He gave 
His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish but have everlasting life." "He laid 
on him the iniquity of us all." The Cross of Christ 
is a symbol of God's wrath, as well as God's love. It 
tells both of Justice and of Mercy. It is the voice of 
justice, awing us in the presence of God's righteous 
wrath. It is the voice of love, declaring the love of 
God in sending His Son to rescue us from perishing. 
It convicts of sin and makes the soul tremble; and at 
the same time draws, by tender cords, to the all- 
loving Father. 

It is the verdict of infinite wisdom and goodness 
that sin is exceedingly sinful, and that man, by reason 
of sin, is guilty and condemned. A man may be sick 
nigh unto death, and yet feel little discomfort, because 
the disease has stupefied his sense of feeling. But 
when he looks into the anxious faces of wife and child- 
ren, and physician, who scarcely leave his bedside for 
an hour; — when he knows a council of the best phy- 
sicians has been called, he sees in all this the verdict 
of love and skill, that he is a very sick man. So may 



10 



130 THE GREATER WORKS. 

sin dull our moral sense. We sin so much, and justify 
ourselves so frequently, that sin does not seem to be 
sin at all. Our consciences have been seared. But 
when we look at the cross, and ask why should the 
sinless Son of Man suffer and die like that? and learn 
that infinite wisdom has declared it to be an awful 
necessity on account of sin, we read in this fact the 
verdict of God, that sin is exceedingly sinful, and ''its 
wages death," and our souls cry out for mercy. 

I do not accept that old theory of atonement 
which divided the price of our redemption by the 
number of the redeemed, and made the quotient the 
price of each redeemed soul. Jesus valued one soul 
as worth more than all the world. Had you, my 
friend, been the only sinner on God's footstool, Jesus 
would have died for you. Were you ever sick and 
have a kind mother watch over you day by day and 
night by night, until she grows weary and sick herself, 
and still keeps up the ceaseless vigil? She has turned 
away from all the rest of the family, and all her neigh- 
bors, and shut herself up to you alone. Not a weary, 
plodding step but for you; not a long, sleepless night 
of vigilance but for you; not a pulsation of her mother 
heart but for you. And did she not look more lovely 
and more lovable than ever before, as she bent upon 
you all this maternal tenderness? and did not your 
heart go out to her as never before? So it is when I 
see Jesus agonizing in Gethsemane, and sufiering on 
the cross for me, — poor, sinful me — that m,y soul may 
be burnished for the crown of his rejoicing forever — 
that I know something of his meaning when he saj^s, 



THE GREATER WORKS. 131 

"If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me," and 
catch the key note of Solomon's song, "Thou art al- 
together lovely — the chiefest among ten thousand." 
The Captain of our Salvation was made perfect 
through suflferings. No evangelist can win souls to 
Christ if he leaves out this "Old, old Story." The 
cross is the very heart of the gospel of Christ — the 
power of God unto salvation. 

We may never be able to fathom the profound 
philosophy of the atonement, but we know it was 
never declared that God could be just and the justifier 
of him who believeth in Jesus, nor was there a com- 
mission to preach the gospel of mercy to all the sinful 
world, until after the death and resurrection of Jesus 
Christ. 

II. The work of His Apostles: We must bear 
in mind that Jesus was addressing disciples who were 
being trained, and were soon to be commissioned, as 
apostles^ to preach the gospel of salvation to all na- 
tions. They could not be efficient apostles, unless 
they were faithful disciples; and hence, in this long 
conversation, covering nearly four chapters, there is 
much that is applicable to disciples generally; but 
there is much also that is applicable only to these apos- 
tles. Jesus said he was going to his Father. These 
apostles were to preach the Word. In his prayer he 
said: "I have given unto them the words Thou gavest 
me." In this twelfth verse he assures them that they 
would be given the power to work miracles. "He 
that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do 
also." Dr. Barnes says, "This promise had peculiar 



132 THE GREATER WORKS. 

reference to the apostles themselves." Jesus Christ 
was God's Chief Embassador, and the apostles call 
themselves "Embassadors for Christ, as though God 
did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead 
be ye reconciled to God." An embassador is clothed 
with full power to treat for his government. Christ 
said. What you bind or loose on earth, shall be bound 
or loosed in heaven. "Whosoever receives you, re- 
ceives me, and whosoever receives me, receives the 
Father who sent me." There never had been before, 
and there never has been since, a ministry clothed 
with plenary power. It was an extraordinary claim, 
and could be confirmed only by an extraordinary con- 
firmation. Hence "They went forth and preached 
everywhere, the Lord working with them, and con- 
firming the word with signs following." 

But they did not work greater miracles, nor a 
greater number of miracles than Christ. John says 
the full record of Christ's deeds and sayings would 
make many volumes. None of the miracles of the 
apostles rose to the distinction of the miracle of 
Lazarus' resurrection. 

What then is meant by "greater works" ? Surely 
not greater miracles. The ministry of Jesus was full 
of faithful teaching and faithful warning, and full of 
pathos and power, and yet only one hundred and 
twenty faithful disciples were present on the day of 
Pentecost. Paul speaks of five hundred who saw him 
after his resurrection. However, even five hundred is 
a feeble fruitage for the grandest ministry of earth. 
But when Peter preached the first gospel sermon under 



THE GREATER WORKS. 133 

the commission, three thousand answered the tirst 
invitation; and ah-eady does he realize the greater 
work that had been committed to their hands. Greater 
because the soul is greater than the body. Greater 
because it is greater to feed the souls of men with the 
Bread of life, than to feed the multitudes with loaves 
and fishes. Greater to open the minds of men to see 
Jesus as their Savior, than to open the eyes of Bar- 
timeus. Greater to raise men from death in trespasses 
and in sins, than to raise Lazarus from the dead; and 
greater because this blessed work would go on with 
increasing success, until a countless number would 
come from every tribe, and kindred and people, to 
swell the chorus of redeeming love. This is the 
"greater work;" and it is also 

III. The work of the Church. I know these men 
were apostles, and we are not; they were inspired, and 
we are not; they had a miracle working faith, and we 
have not; and there is no necessity now for these. 
But they were disciples, — the friends of Jesus, and 
members of his church, — and so are we; and we may 
have the intense faith and enthusiasm of these dis- 
ciples. Hear them : "We can not but speak things 
we have seen and heard." "So we believe, and so we 
preach." "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel — 
necessity is laid upon me." "I am debtor both to the 
Greeks and Barbarians, to the wise and the unwise, so 
as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel." 
These men felt the burden of a great responsibility, 
and so may we. Their souls were on fire with the 
love of Christ, and the love of man, and this made 



134 THE GREATER WORKS. 

them eloquent. You say we need this spirit in the 
pulpit today. Granted; but does it not occur to you 
that this niust also be the spirit of the pew? When 
the church comes to realize that winning souls to 
Christ, and building them up in the faith that giveth 
final victory, is a greater work than feeding the 
hungry multitudes, healing diseases, or even raising 
the dead, it will intensify the faith that makes this 
"greater work" possible, and unite all hearts and 
hands in a noble effort to bring Christ to all the world, 
and all the world to Christ. May the Lord help us to 
see this lost world as he sees it; to hear the cry of 
need as he hears it; to value souls as he values them; 
and to lay ourselves upon the altar of service, even 
unto death, as did our blessed Master, that we may 
have fellowship with him here, and rejoice that he has 
been able to use us as "workers together with God." 



THE GREAT COMMISSION. 



"And Jesus came to thera and spake unto them saying, All 
authority hath been given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go 
ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them 
into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; 
and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," — 
Matt, xxviii : 18-20. 

UHIS is the elevation from which we may view 
properly all the past, in which "God had spoken 
to the fathers by the prophets;" and a new Mt. Pisgah 
from which we may view all the promised land of the 
new Israel. Every thing before has been leading up 
to this. It is the beginning of the execution of a great 
purpose, "which" was kept secret since the world began, 
but now is made known to all nations for the 
obedience of faith." No one can understand the 
Bible who does not draw a distinct line here, "rightly 
dividing the word." 

All authority in heaven and in earth ! 

This is an exalted claim. All authority — legisla- 
tive, judicial, executive — is given unto me in heaven 
and in earth. "Sit thou at My right hand till I make 
thy foes thy footstool." "And let all the angels of 
God do him honor." "Thou Lord, in the beginning, 
has laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens 
are the works of Thy hands." "In the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 
was God. All things were made by Him, and without 



136 THE GREAT COMMISSION. 

Him was not any thing made that was made. And the 
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace 
and truth." (Jno. i : 14.) "The image of the invisible 
God, the first born of every creature, for by Him were 
all things created that are in heaven, and that are in 
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, 
or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things 
were created by Him and for Him; and He is before all 
things, and by Him all things consist." (Col. i: 15.) 
All this, and much more, is said of Jesus by apostles 
and prophets. Men who sway a feeble sceptre over 
millions on earth are called great. Jesus commands 
all the legions of angels, and is the rightful ruler over 
all men. 

The men who stood about him were not surprised 
at this high claim. Yet no one in human flesh had 
ever claimed so much. They had accepted the infal- 
lible proofs that he was the long looked - for 
Messiah — the Christ, the Son of the living God. He 
had proved himself to be a king among men, and 
therefore his right to rule over men. He had com- 
manded the winds and waves, and they obeyed his 
voice. He had driven out diseases and demons. He 
had said to Satan, "Get thee behind me," and Satan 
obeyed his voice. He had commanded the grave to 
yield up the imprisoned clay, and the grave opened. 
He had himself wrestled with death and the tomb, and 
had arisen a triumphant Savior. No wonder the 
apostles were not surprised at this exalted claim. 

What does he Propose f Nothing less than univer- 
sal conquest. And this was in harmony with all the 



THE GREAT COMMISSION. 137 

prophecies of old. God had said to Abram, "In thee 
and thy seed shall all the nations be blessed." David 
put it in a song of praise, "Ask of me and 1 will give 
thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utter- 
most parts of the earth for thy possession." Isaiah, 
the evangelical prophet, had glorious visions of the 
Gospel's universal triumph: "Of the increase of his 
government and peace there shall be no end; upon the 
throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and 
to establish it, with judgment and with justice, from 
henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of 
hosts will perform this." "And he shall judge among 
the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they 
shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their 
spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up 
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more." "The wilderness and solitary place shall 
rejoice and blossom as the rose." "The Lord hath 
made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, 
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of 
our God." "For as the earth bringeth forth 
her bud, so the Lord God will cause right- 
eousness and praise to spring forth before all the 
nations." And Daniel saw the triumphant kingdom 
in the stone, "cut out without hands," that "smote the 
image," and "became a great mountain and filled the 
whole earth" — the "kingdom which shall never be 
destroyed." Habakkuk said, "The earth shall be filled 
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the 
waters cover the sea." The angels proclaimed it when 
Jesus was born, "Behold, I bring you good tidings 



138 THE GREAT COMMISSION. 

of great joy which shall be to all people;" and a mul- 
titude of the heavenly host shouted the refrain, "Glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
toward men." 

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Thy will be 
done in earth as it is in heaven," and to make this a 
daily prayer until God's kingdom shall come in all its 
power, in the lives and surroundings of men. 

Jesus established his ordinances with a view to 
catholicity. He ordained that baptism should be in 
water, and that the loaf and wine should memorialize 
his death. Water is a universal element. The vine grows 
in every zone; the wheat plant grows under every sun, 
— India rivaling Manitoba in its production for the 
world's markets. The Gospel was to be preached to all 
the world, because adapted to the world's needs, and 
wherever preached the people could hear, and obey 
in the waters of baptism; and wherever a church was 
organized, there would it be possible to celebrate the 
Lord's death with the chosen elements. 

In all this, the wisest men of that time would have 
made many blunders. And, specially would the wisest 
Jew have made a mistake in the philanthropy of the 
Gospel. No Jew would have ordained a gospel for all 
the world. His education had purposely been of a 
quality that would bind and hold the Jews together 
till the coming of Christ; and because God had so 
abundantly blessed them in the flesh, they came to 
think of themselves as the one favored nation. For 
this reason this philanthropic scheme of Jesus did not 
spring from his Jewish education or environment. He 



THE GREAT COMMISSION. 139 

was not a development from the past, or the outgrowth 
of Jewish institutions. He was the gift of God to the 
world, sent forth "in the fullness of time." 

The world's Conquest ! 

Great men, and specially great warriors, had at- 
tempted the world's conquest by mighty armies. On 
the awful night of the crucifixion Jesus said to Peter, 
"Put up thy sword. They that use it perish by it." 
The sword is the symbol of force and violence. Jesus 
does not propose to conquer in this way. "My people 
shall be willing in the day of my power." The Word 
of God is the sword of the Spirit, — "quick and power- 
ful, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and 
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a dis- 
cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." 
"The gospel is the power of God unto salvation." 

Nor did he propose to conquor the world by 
miracles. His miracles had confirmed his claim to be 
the Son of God. Miracles would confirm the word of 
the apostles. Miracles would accomplish their mission 
and pass away. Besides, a miracle-working ministry 
or church, would draw the multitudes simply for fleshly 
blessing. They would come to be healed of bodily 
maladies, and only one in ten, like the lepers of old, 
would return to glorify Christ. Jesus said, "Ye shall 
hear the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 

Jesus commits his message to men. He could 
have sounded out the Word to all the world, by one 
stupendous miracle, but he did not preach the Gospel 
even to Saul, when he appeared to him on his way to 
Damascus. He sent an earthen vessel — a man — to tell 



140 THE GEE AT COMMISSION. 

him the way of salvation. An angel appeared to Cor- 
nelius, but he also told the inquirer to send for Peter, 
to tell him words* whereby he and his house might be 
saved. Angels have usually alarmed people by their 
brightness and glory. Nor did the Holy Spirit stand 
out in lambent flame to speak to the people on the 
day of Pentecost, but inspired Peter to deliver the 
first Gospel sermon. God spake to the fathers by his 
Spirit "in the prophets.-' Jesus speaks to the world 
by his Spirit in the apostles. 

His chosen men came from the average walks of 
life. They had passed through the experiences which 
are the common lot of the average people. They had 
the education which people of their own class enjoyed. 
They had the education which comes from contact 
with their fellows, in domestic and commercial aflairs. 
They were not the men whom worldly enterprise, or 
political wisdom, would have called to the front. 
Worldly wisdom would call them weak, not knowing 
that God chooses "the weak things of the world to 
confound the things that are mighty," and that this 
great cause was to triumph by virtue of its own in- 
herent qualities. 

And yet they were educated as no ministry has 
ever been educated since. I once heard Garfield say, 
illustrating the personal power of the teacher, "I 
would choose the old log schoolhouse, with Dr. Hop- 
kins for a teacher, against a well endowed college 
whose professors labor, in a perfunctory way, with- 
out a high appreciation of life, character, and duty; 
for Dr. Hopkins was a man, through and through, and 



THE GREAT COMMISSION. 141 

put his soul into his work, till you felt his very pres- 
ence to be a daily benediction." 

If this is the right estimate of personal influence, 
what must have been the molding power of the Great 
Teacher? The disciples were with him in the city and 
country, along the highways and byways; in the homes 
of the rich and the poor; in the quiet seclusion of the 
humble home of Lazarus, and in the gatherings of the 
great multitude which thronged him on every hand. 
He talked as he walked, and walked as he talked. 
And the lessons of his life and his lips are the great 
lessons necessary to true discipleship. What an edu- 
cation was this! Add to this their "endowment from 
on high," and we have a ministry, the like of which 
the world never saw before, and has never seen since. 
Moreover, Jesus depended more on the spirit of these 
men than upon his word of commandment. They 
were his friends, and, for this reason, would do what 
he commanded. The love of Christ constrained them. 

They did not receive this commission with a view 
to professional service. There was no question as to 
salaries and parsonages and perquisites. He told them 
that bonds and imprisonments aw^aited them. "They 
have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." 
They received this commandment in the spirit of 
patriotic soldiers on a field of battle. The commander 
says, "Take that fort and hold it at all odds, or the 
day is lost, the campaign is lost, the country is lost!" 
It is not a question of dollars and cents, nor of how 
many will be slain, nor of how many hearts will ache 
and break at the home firesides of these brave men. 



142 THE GREAT COMMISSION. 

It is a question of weal or woe to the nation. And, 
under the inspiration of patriotism, they leap to the 
charge, and through the leaden hail, and the jaws of 
death, they mount the ramparts and plant the national 
standard there; no matter about the loss of blood and 
treasure. So the apostles received the command of 
the King. The Gospel is bread for the starving, water 
for the famishing, hope for the despairing, life for the 
dying. Go preach it to every creature. Carry it with 
confidence that it is adapted to man's needs; and that 
men will receive it, and rejoice in its exceeding great 
and precious promises. 

"Make disciples" — this was the simple work to 
which they were commissioned. Not disciples of a 
religious philosophy, but disciples of Christ. If each 
one of these apostles had preached a speculative 
theology of his own, which he regarded as orthodoxy, 
and had labored earnestly to make converts to it, they 
would have organized twelve sectarian churches, at the 
beginning of their ministry. It is the preaching of 
speculative theologies that has made all the sects of 
our time. The apostles preached Christ and him 
crucified. They made disciples of Christ by preach- 
ing the gospel of Christ. Faith comes by hearing the 
gospel; and faith in Christ means faith in all that he 
represents; — and he represents all that is highest and 
holiest. Facing toward Jesus Christ means, at this 
same time, turning the back upon the world — the one 
is faith, the other is repentance. No man can be a 
disciple of Christ without faith in him, and a desire to 
belike him. Then is he a proper subject of baptism. 



THE GREAT COMMISSION. 143 

"Baptizing them into the name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." This was the 
command "of the King," and indicates a transition. 
"Into the name." "Into" is a preposition following 
verbs of motion. Baptism was the formal and final 
act, bringing disciples into the family of God, where 
they could call God their Father; Jesus Christ their 
Elder Brother, and "High Priest of their profession;" 
the Holy Spirit, their indwelling Guest, and ever 
present Helper. 

They were then to teach these disciples to ob- 
serve all things which Jesus had commanded. The 
New Testament is written to answer two questions: 
1. How shall I become a disciple of Christ? 2. How 
shall I become the best disciple? True disciple- 
ship includes growth in grace and in the knowl- 
edge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. United 
with, and drawing spiritual nourishment from Christ, 
the true vine, the disciple bears fruit. Christ says, 
herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; 
so shall ye be my disciples. He that abideth in me, 
and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." 
The disciple is a bearer of fruit, then more fruit, then 
much fruit. 

Discipleship is service — "Take my yoke." The 
great question is, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
do?" "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide 
in my love; even as I have kept my Father's com- 
mandments, and abide in His love. If a man love me he 
will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and 
we will come unto Him and make our abode with Him." 



144 THE GREAT COMMISSION. 

Discipleship means growth in knowledge. "Learn 
of me" — learn with a view to becominor like Christ. 
Paul compares this growth to the making of mirrors 
from metal plates. The plate was scoured and rubbed 
and brightened and polished until it became a mirror. 
"We all, reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, 
are changed from glory to glory." That is, by learn- 
ing of Christ, and doing his will, by the study of his 
life and by the fullness of his spirit, we reflect more 
and more, and yet more, the Christ-life, until the world 
sees Christ reflected from our ways and words, our 
sympathies and activities, our thoughts and feelings — 
a sort of reproduction of Jesus Christ among the 
children of men. And this is the great aim of Chris- 
tianity so far as this world is concerned. Heaven 
must begin in the heart, and show itself in the life, 
before the soul can enjoy the heaven of heavens where 
Christ abides forever more. 

"Z6>, I am with you alway?^ 

eTesus was born in a stable and cradled in a 
manger. His boyhood life was spent in the humble 
home of Joseph, the carpenter. It had been a prov- 
erb that no good thing could come out of Nazareth. 
He had not the learning of the schools, nor the expe- 
riences of that sort of life which would have given 
him prestige in commercial, civil, or ecclesiastical 
leadership. As men count greatness, he was not great. 
He had surrounded himself with men from the ordi- 
nary walks of life; and, to these common men he gave 
a commission which would have its highest success 
among the common people. These men had not fully 



THE GREAT COMMISSION. 145 

comprehended his great mission up to the very day of 
this commission. Confounded by his willingness to 
die on the ignominious cross, they had fled from the 
wrath of his persecutors, like timid children, and yet 
Jesus commits to their hands the greatest enterprise 
of all time. He had told them of the fires that would 
be kindled to burn them; of the prison doors that 
would open to receive them; of the martyrdom that 
would make them glorious. Did their cheeks pale, 
and their knees tremble? Probably so, till Jesus 
added these gracious words, "Lo, I am with you alway, 
even unto the end of the world." 

And then there came back to them the memory 
of a life full of illustrations of power divine; and how, 
since his resurrection, he had, over and over again, 
demonstrated that he could be present when they saw 
him not. And this belief in the God-man, gave them 
courage and enthusiasm to w^ork against all odds; for 
if Christ be for us and with us, who can be successfully 
against us? . How wonderfully this promise was ful- 
filled, over and over again. They wept over the grave 
of Stephen, and felt that the great martyr's place 
could never be filled; and yet the grass had not started 
green on his grave, before the very man, who had 
consented to his cruel death, was preaching the gospel 
more eloquently than Stephen could have preached it, 
had he lived. They sat down and shed tears over the 
ashes of the Church in Jerusalem, and doubtless called 
it a great calamity, but they soon wiped away the fall- 
ing tears, for the good tidings came back that the 
scattered disciples were preaching the gospel every- 



11 



146 THE GREAT COMMISSION. 

where they went, and were reaching more people than 
could have been reached, had they been permitted to 
remain in Jerusalem, 

When John's heart sank within him on Patmos, 
and he began to wonder whether the Commission 
would triumph, the curtains were rolled back, and he 
saw Jesus, panoplied in light, and power, and glory, 
moving among the churches; and again and again he 
had visions of glorious triumphs down to the very end, 
when he saw the redeemed coming out of all nations, 
and kindreds, and tongues, and peoples, a great mul- 
titude which no man could number, clothed with white 
robes, and palms in their hands, saying, "Salvation to 
our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb." 

This is the vision of gospel triumphs, the grand 
echo of the Great Commission. The ever-present Christ 
is the assurance of final victory. He who had power 
over winds and waves, over diseases and demons, over 
death and the grave, is able to make good his promise 
that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his 
church. 

''Jesus shall reign where'er the sun, 
Doth his successive journeys run; 
His Kingdom spread from shore to shore, 
Till moons shall wax and wane no more." 



THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 



" And he said, Go ye unto all the world and preach the gospel 
to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. 
He that disbelieveth shall be condemned." 



n 



HE gospel of Christ is a very simple message. 
Paul says, " Though we or an angel from heaven 
should preach unto you any gospel, other than that 
which we have preached unto you, let him be ac- 
cursed." God would not hold His servants to so fear- 
ful a responsibility, if the gospel were a profound 
mystery. 

It was to be preached to every creature — to the 
young and to the old, to the learned and to the un- 
learned, — with the expectation that all could understand 
and appreciate it. Its facts were so clearly true, and 
its commandments so evidently those of one who had 
a right to rule, that no intelligent person could be 
excused for rejecting it. " He that disbelieveth shall 
be condemned." 

It has in it the issues of life and death. It is not 
a speculative theology which few can understand, and 
which a man may believe or not believe without putting 
his soul in peril. Spurgeon once said Calvinism is 
pure gospel; and yet he believed that men could 
reject Calvinism without affecting the soul's salvation. 
If so, Calvinism is not the gospel. "He that disbe- 
lieveth shall be condemned," was not written of Cal- 



148 THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

vinism, Arminianism, or any other human ism. A 
great many valuable lessons may be taught which will 
make us more intelligent, and yet not be the gospel of 
Christ. In a broad sense, the Word of God is the 
gospel : "This is the gospel, which, by the Word, is 
preached unto you," and yet there are many things 
in the Bible of which we may be ignorant and still be 
saved. The gospel is : 

I. Good news. Paul says the promise, " In thy 
seed shall all nations be blessed," was the gospel to 
Abraham. It was the good news of the coming Mes 
siah, who would be the seed of Abraham, and who 
would bless the world. When Jesus was born, the 
angel said to the shepherds, "Fear not: for behold, 
I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to 
all people: for unto you is born this day, in the city 
of David, a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord. "^ - 
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of 
the heavenly host, praising God, and saying. Glory to 
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
toward men." This was good news to the wondering 
shepherds, that the long expected Messiah had come, 
and that he would glorify God in the highest, and 
bring peace and good will to men everywhere. The 
gospel of the text is the good news that this babe had 
passed from the cradle to the cross, and from the cross 
to the throne; had proved himself to be the Christ, 
the Son of God; had given his life a ransom for our 
sins; had risen from the dead, and ever liveth to make 
intercession for us; and is " able to save unto the 
uttermost all who come to God by him." 



THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.. 149 

What constitutes an offered hlessing^ good news f 
(1) It must be true. (2) We must realize our need of 
the blessing offered. (3) The blessing must be ac- 
cessible, (tt) The way of access to it must be clearly 
pointed out. 

Suppose I am a pauper here in your midst, hu 
miliated by the thought that my family is soon to be 
put upon the town. I take from the Post Office a 
letter, which purports to come from a rich uncle in 
England. He tells me that, having heard of my mis- 
fortune and distress, he has set aside £5,000 for our 
benefit, the income from which will keep us all com- 
fortable. He tells me to draw on him for the expense 
of the journe}^, and to come at once. He also gives 
explicit instructions as to the route to be taken. 
This is good news. The offer is genuine. I am very 
needy. The blessing is accessible, and I am told how 
to come into the enjoyment of it. 

Should some one convince me that this letter, or 
any part of it, is not genuine, or that my uncle is not 
able to fulfill his promise, it would cease to be good 
news. Or had it come to me when I. had plenty of 
this world's goods; or had my uncle imposed upon me 
impossible conditions; or, if living in the midst of 
people unable to show me the way to my uncle's 
castle across the sea, he had failed to give me plain 
directions, it would not have been good news. 

The apostles gave very large attention to evi- 
dences. They showed how the prophets testified of 
the central facts of the gospel; how God approved of 
Christ by miracles, wonders and signs, and how he 



150 . THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

" showed himself alive, after his passion, by many in- 
fallible proofs." At Corinth, Paul preached, first of 
all, that Jesas died for our sins, and arose from the 
dead, according to the Scriptures, and that he was 
seen by the apostles, and above five hundred brethren, 
the most of whom were then living. They spake to 
man as if he could reason. They expected him to 
think. " What thinJc ye of Christ, whose son is he ? " 
was the great question for which they sought an 
answer from the listening people. No man will 
receive the gospel message unless he comes to see 
that it is true. If you would fill, with water, a glass 
already full of wine, you must first pour the wine out. 
So if the mind is filled with skepticism, there is no 
room for Christ and his life-giving truth. 

Jesus said to the apostles, "When the Spirit of 
Truth is come to you He will convince the world of 
sin, and of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin, 
because they believe not on me, of righteousness 
because I go to my Father, and of judgment because 
the prince of this world is judged." This indicates 
the scope of gospel preaching. The Holy Spirit — the 
Spirit of Truth — by the mouth of the apostles, would 
make the evidence so clear that Jesus is the one Savior 
of Men, that not to believe on him would be sin, — the 
great sin that lies at the foundation of all sinning. 
To believe in Christ, and to love Christ, is to believe 
in, and love all that is highest and holiest and best. 
To reject Christ is to reject all that is holy and true. 
The apostles convicted men of sin. "When they 
heard the Word, they were pricked in their heart." 



THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 151 

No man will come to Christ unless he is made to feel 
the need of salvation. This is the evangelist's most 
difficult task. The sinner is blind, yet boasts of his 
light. He is starving, yet boasts of feasting sump- 
tuously every day. He is leprous, yet boasts of ruddy 
health. He is naked, yet boasts of purple and fine 
linen. That preaching is a mighty power which tears 
away all this veil of self-deceit, and self-contentment, 
and makes sinners see themselves as God sees them, 
and cry out, What shall we do ? Such was the first 
sermon under this Commission, and such was Paul's 
preaching when he reasoned of righteousness and 
temperance and judgment to come, till Felix trembled. 
They convinced men of Christ's righteousness. 
God is the one righteous Judge. Jesus went to his 
Father, because the Father approved him. "When he 
was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, 
threatened not, but committed his cause to Him that 
judgeth righteously. Having been condemned by 
civil and ecclesiastical courts on earth, he appealed 
his case to the Court of Heaven, and the Supreme 
Judge of the Universe reversed the decision of the 
lower courts. Sinful man saw no beauty in him that 
they should desire him; God said, he is altogether 
lovely. Men despised him and rejected him; God re- 
ceived him to His bosom. Men crowned him with 
thorns; God crowned him with glory and honor. 
Men crucified him; God raised him fi'om the dead. 
Men bowed the knee in mockery, saying. Hail, King 
of the Jews; God said let all the angels worship him; 
and they sang, "Worthy is the Lamb that hath been 



152 THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and 
might, and honor, and glory, and blessing." 

"Of judgment, because the prince of this world 
is judged." Jesus said, "Now is my soul troubled; 
what shall I say ? Father, save me from this hour ? 
but for this came I unto this hour. Father, glorify 
thy name"; and the Father answered, "I have both 
glorified it, and will glorify it again." Then Jesus 
said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall 
the prince of this world be cast out." Dr. Barnes 
well says, "The death of Jesus was the determining 
cause, the grand crisis, the concentration of all that 
God had ever done, or ever will do, to break down the 
kingdom of Satan, and set up His power over men. 
The death of Jesus Christ was a judgment or con- 
demnation of Satan — the prince of this world." Satan 
tempted Eve, and filled the world with discord, sin 
and death. The Lord promised Eve that the seed of 
the woman — the Son of the virgin Mary — should de- 
stroy the devil and his works. When Jesus came, 
Satan tried to compass his ruin by all the wiles that 
he had used so successfully with men. Jesus said, 
"Get thee behind me." He sent his demons to do his 
wicked bidding. Jesus cast them out. He entered 
into Judas and used him to betray Jesus unto death; 
and when his purpose was accomplished, there was 
revelry in hell. But there was a Jubilee in heaven 
when Jesus conquered the grave, and was escorted by 
the angels to the right hand of the Majesty on high. 
The key note of the gospel is this: That Jesus ''died 
for our sins, and was raised again for our justiJicatio7iy 



THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 153 

The commission to preaeh the gospel to every creat- 
ure was the beginning of the end, "when he shall have 
put all enemies under his feet." Thus it was that the 
prince of this world was judged. The condemnation 
of the fountain is the condemnation of all the out- 
flowing streams. 

The apostles did not stop with showing that the 
gospel is true, and that sinful man stands in great 
need of its sure mercies. They did not stop with sim- 
ply telling that there are riches in Christ Jesus, and 
that the treasures of his grace are abundant for lost 
humanity. When the anxious sinner cried, "What 
shall I do V they did not answer, 

"Doing is a deadly thing, 
Cast your deadly doing down;" 

"The more you do the more you will be damned;" 
"Stand still and see the salvation of God," as some of 
you may have heard the preacher say at the revival 
meeting. They gave an explicit answer. Peter said, 
on the memorable day of Pentecost, to inquiring be- 
lievers, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, 
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, 
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The 
people heard, understood, believed, obeyed, and imme- 
diately "rejoiced in the hope of the glory of God." 
"They became servants of God, and had their fruit un- 
to holiness, and the end everlasting life." 

II. The power of God unto salvation. Paul 
says, " I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for 
it is the power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." 



154 THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

The power, not a power. Certainly this means pre-' 
eminent power, as when we say. The sun is the light of 
the world. The moon still shines, but its light seems 
to have been extinguished. The morning light seems 
to drive away the stars. The gospel is the power of 
God for a purpose — salvation. God's powers are 
many. Water is God's power to quench thirst; food 
is God's power to quell hunger — and these he has 
placed within our reach. What would you think of a 
man, kneeling on the street, and praying to God to 
send down power to quench his thirst, and power to 
quell his hunger % Any school boy could bring him a 
glass of water, and a loaf of bread, and tell him God's 
power is in this bread and water. I have seen as 
strange a phenomenon — a man praying to God to send 
down power to save his soul; — and even the preacher 
had not the intelligence to tell him that "the gospel is 
the power of God unto salvation." 

But we may, by improper admixtures, destroy the 
power of bread and water. A handful of salt will 
destroy the power of water to quench thirst. An 
ounce of arsenic will give a loaf of bread power to 
destroy life. The gospel is bread for the hungry, and 
water for the famishing world, but it should be given 
to the world in its purity and simplicity. 

We may teach a good many true things about 
bread, a knowledge of which will make us more intel- 
ligent, but the power of bread to quell hunger does 
not depend upon this knowledge. Here is a hungry 
man knocking at the door of Charity Home for bread. 
The doorkeeper plies him with questions : "Do you 



THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 155 

know whether wheat belongs to the vegetable or 
animal kingdom ? Can you define yeast, and explain, 
scientifically, the process of leavening ? Can you 
explain, scientifically, how bread nourishes the human 
body ? Did God, from all eternity, foreordain bread 
for the nourishing of the body ? And did he foreknow 
and foreordain a definite number of human beings to 
be nourished, and a definite number to be starved V 
The starving man stands abashed in the presence of 
these hard questions, and wonders whether there is, after 
all, any charity in this Charity Home. He cries, "Bread! 
bread ! Give me bread or I die ! and after I have 
been fed, and when I have time, I vn.ll study botany, 
zoology, philosophy and God's eternal decrees, and in 
every way make myself more intelligent." Time was 
when men were not received into what was supposed 
to be Christ's Charity Home — the Church, — unless 
they could answer harder questions than these. The 
doors open easier now. 

But suppose the doorkeeper lets in this starving 
man without answering these questions, and the 
attendant puts before him the food necessary to 
nourish him back to normal life, and he instinctively 
reaches for nourishing food, and suddenly stops and 
says, I will not eat a mouthful till you tell me what 
is in the covered dishes at the other end of the table. 
You would wonder whether he was sane. And yet 
many a poor, hungry soul has refused to taste the 
Bread of Life, which came dow^n from heaven, because 
he could not see into the covered dishes. There are 
some who will be lost because they can not find out 



156 THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

where Cain got his wife. There are depths in the 
Word and work of God which we never can sound; 
there are heights we never can scale. But God is not ask- 
ing you to sound these depths, nor scale these heights. 
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. This 
is the central fact. The faith that saves is a personal 
trust in a personal Redeemer. Christ is himself the 
Bread of Life, of which, if you eat, you shall never 
hunger. Christ is himself the soul of the gospel. 
The apostles and evangelists preached Christ Jesus; 
in the prophesies and types, and their fulfillment; 
in the cradle — on the cross — on the throne; the only 
Savior of men. They presented facts to be believed, 
precepts to be obeyed, promises to be enjoyed, and 
threatenings to be feared. 

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation — 
not to every one, not to all men, but to every one that 
helieveth^ just as food is the power of God to quell 
hunger to the man who is hungry and will eat it. 
Faith is the principle by which we appropriate the 
blessings of the gospel. We believe the facts. There 
is power in facts to point out the truth. One fact is 
worth a thousand theories. There is power in truth. 
"The truth shall make you free"; power in precepts, 
which show the way of salvation; they are "pure, en- 
lightening the eyes; right rejoicing the heart." There 
is power in promises, "exceeding great and precious," 
by which we are "made partakers of the divine na- 
ture;" power in the love out of which these promises 
spring — love begetting love. "The love of Christ con- 



THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 157 

strains us." There is power in warning, restraining 
us from evil ways. 

My alien friend, does all this mean nothing 
to you ? Do you see all this display of God's 
love, Christ's heroism, and the apostles' faithfulness 
unto death, and hear the wonderful words • of God, 
simply as you see and hear a drama ? Does God mean 
no more than a display, with which you may be enter- 
tained one brief hour ? Nay, my fi'iend, God is deeply 
in earnest. He would not that you should perish. 
Jesus wept over the sins of Jerusalem. He weeps 
over your sins. He came to seek and to save the lost. 
You are lost. He seeks you; will you not seek him? 
He is coming again. Unto them that look for him, 
he will appear again without a sin-offering unto eter- 
nal salvation. The angels that escorted him home 
will come with him. He will be "revealed from 
heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking 
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey 
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be 
punished with everlasting destruction fTom the presence 
of the Lord, and fi'om the glory of his power; when 
he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be 
admired in all that believe in that day." "Serve the 
Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the 
Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, 
when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are 
all they that put their trust in Him." "Seek ye the 
Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while 
he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the 
unrighteous man his though1;s ; and let him return 



158 THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 

unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him: and 
to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 

" O, what amazing words of grace, 
Are in this gospel found, 
Suited to every sinner's case, 
Who hears the gospel sound. 

Come, then, with all your wants and wounds, 

Your every burden bring ; 
Here love, unchanging love, abounds, — 

A deep celestial spring. 

This spring with living. water flows, 

And heavenly joy imparts, 
Come, thirsty souls, your wants disclose 

And drink with thankful hearts. 

Millions of sinners vile as you, 

Have here found life and peace ; 
Come, then, and prove its virtues, too, 

And drink, adore, and bless." 



THE REMISSION OF SINS. 



. " Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and 
to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and re- 
mission of sins should be preached in His name, among all nations, 
beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things." 
— Luke XXIV : 46-48. 

JESUS Christ never lost sight of his mission. He 
came to seek and to save the lost. Amid the 
agonies of the cross, he prayed for the lost. Now the 
angels are coming for him, and will escort him to the 
throne. Soon they are to shout aloud, " Lift up your 
heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting 
doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is 
this King of Glory ? The Lord strong and mighty, 
the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye 
gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the 
King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of 
Glory ? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory." 
In full view of this grand ovation, he is not forgetful 
of a sinful world. He had suffered on the cross, and 
had come forth from the grave, that repentance and 
remission of sins should be preached, in his name, 
among all nations; and now he is going to the throne 
to rule until all the enemies of God and mankind shall 
be destroyed. David had put it in song : "Thou art 
my Son: this day have I begotten thee. Ask of Me 
and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inherit- 



160 THE REMISSION OF SINS. 

ance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy 
possession." 

Sin, in its very nature, separates the soul from 
God. "If ye die in your sins, where I am ye can 
not come." " The wages of sin is death ! " Figur- 
atively, sin is disease; but Mark's gospel interprets 
"healing" by calling it the "forgiveness of sins." 
Figuratively, sin is debt. Matthew's version of the 
Lord's prayer says, "Forgive us our debts." Luke's 
version says, "Forgive us our sins;" and Jesus inter- 
prets by the word "trespasses." Sin is trespass — the 
transgression of the divine law. "The strength of sin 
is the law." Sin is rebellion against God. God only 
can forgive sin. 

We can not heal ourselves. We can not forgive 
our own debts. There are those who think the 
"Saints" have lived lives so much better than God 
requires, as to have a surplus on the credit side of the 
Book of Life, fi*om which less holy people may draw, 
to even up their sinful accounts. This is the theory 
that lies at the foundation of Romish indulgences. 
But Jesus Christ teaches that when we have done all 
that is commanded, we have done only our duty, and 
are still " unprofitable servants." No man, however 
£^ood, has a surplus in the Bank of Heaven. 

There are those who think that if they turn over 
a new leaf, and live pure lives, the debt will be can- 
celed. As well might you expect to pay your debt 
to a merchant by paying cash for purchases hereafter. 
The merchant would inquire, "Have you anything in 
bank ? " " Nothing." " Do you expect to make more 



THE REMISSION OF SINS. 161 

than a living ? " " Not at all." " How, then, are you 
going to pay what is booked against you now ? " 
Some one would have to pay it for you, or the mer- 
chant would have to forgive it. Not one of us can 
say we have not sinned. The record of our guilt has 
already been made, and we are under condemnation. 
This can not be canceled by turning over a new leaf, 
and living a new life. This can be canceled only by 
forgiveness; and this is a sovereign act of God, the 
Supreme Ruler of the Universe. 

This being true, the evidence of pardon should 
not be doubtful. If there is one thing about which 
we should be more certain than about another, it is 
that God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven our sins. 
Our peace, and joy and strength depend upon it. God 
has not left us to sing, 

*' 'Tis a point I long to know, 

And oft it gives me anxious thought : 
Do I love the Lord or no, 
Am I His or am I not ? " 

One says, "I know my sins are forgiven because 
my conscience does not condemn me." Paul's con- 
science did not condemn him when he persecuted the 
disciples of Christ. He says, "Verily I thought I 
ought to do many things contrary to the name of 
Jesus of Nazareth." And again, "I have lived in all 
good conscience before God until this day." And yet 
again, he says, "Jesus Christ came into the world to 
save sinners of whom I am chief." In fact, conscience 
has no power to determine what is right and what is 
wrong. Conscience is simply that moral principle 



12 



162 THE KEMISSION OF SINS. 

which prompts us to do right. A man born without a 
conscience, is a natural born knave. A man born 
without a power to reason, is a natural born fool. 
Reason is of little value without premises, just as the 
eye is useless without light. So also conscience never 
prompts when there is no conclusion as to what is 
right. We reach a conclusion as to right and wrong 
by moral teaching, and moral reasoning. Whether 
our conclusion is correct, depends upon the truth of 
our premises, and the grammar of our logic ; but what- 
ever it may be, true or untrue, conscience simply 
prompts us to do right, as we may have come to see 
it. Here is a mother who has been made to believe 
that her god demands the sacrifice of her child. Her 
conscience says, "Do right, madam," and she goes 
forward in discharge of her duty." Some one 
meets her and tells her there is one God and Moham- 
med is his one prophet, and that she can make peace 
with God, only by a pilgrimage to the sacred stone at 
Mecca. Her conscience says, "Do right," and she 
starts upon the long journey to Mecca. Again she 
meets a Romish priest, who convinces her that Moham- 
med was a false prophet, and that Jesus Christ, the 
Son of God, is her Savior, and that she should ap- 
proach him through the Virgin Mary. Her con- 
science says, "Do right, madam," and she turns at 
once toward a Roman Catholic Cathedral. On her 
way she meets a Protestant minister, who convinces 
her that Mariolatry is little better than idolatry, and 
shows her that Jesus Christ is the one Mediator be- 
tween God and man. Her conscience again prompts 



THE REMISSION OF SINS. 163 

her to do right, and she bows reverently before God, 
and pleads for mercy for Christ's sake. Really her 
conscience has not changed, any more than her eyes 
have changed, but relatively it has changed with 
her change of faith. A heathen faith, a heathen con- 
science; a Mohammedan faith, a Mohammedan con- 
conscieace; a Roman faith, a Roman conscience; a 
Christian faith, a Christian conscience. Faith con- 
trols the conscience, not the conscience faith. If 
you call conscience a guide, it is of little use, 
because it is like a finger board on a pivot. A 
traveler comes to it and reads, "To Akron 10 miles," 
and pointing south. He sets out over the road 
indicated, and meets a man who tells him he is 
on the wrong road. He goes back to examine 
the finger board. Meanwhile the wind has changed, 
and the finger points north. He starts northward, to 
be told again that he is going the wrong way, and 
comes back again to find the finger pointing east. He 
would likely be deceived, three times out of four, by 
such a guide board. If he is a wise man he will ascer- 
tain the right road to destination, set the guide board 
accordingly, and nail it fast, that other travelers may 
not be deceived. The only way to make the con- 
science point the right way, is to nail it fast by the 
word of the living God. God will not condemn us for 
obeying the promptings of conscience, but He will con- 
demn us for not giving heed to His Word. He will 
judge us by what we know, and by what we may 
know. Jesus said, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin I Woe 
unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works which 



164 THE REMISSION OF SINS. 

were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, 
they would have repented long ago in sack cloth and 
ashes. It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, 
at the day of judgment, than for you." This indicates 
a judgment according to opportunities. If Jesus were 
to come to America he would say, "Woe unto you. It 
will be more tolerable, in the day of judgment, for 
Chorazin and Bethsaida than for you; for if the clear 
conviction that I am the Christ, the Son of God, had 
been theirs, as it is yours, they would have repented 
in sack cloth and ashes long ago !" 

Another says, "I go by my feelings." Do you 
not know that your feeling wiU be according to your 
faith ? Convince me that I have fallen heir to a mil- 
lion, I will rejoice over it, though it maybe untrue; or 
convince me that some great misfortune has overtaken 
my family, I will mourn over it, though it may be a 
false report. Suppose that here are three convicts and 
all alike feel happy, and all aUke assign the same rea- 
son, i.e.^ that the Governor has pardoned them. I inquire, 
"How do you know you are pardoned?" One tells that 
he has had a beautiful dream of home, and freedom; 
another that the chaplain told him of his good fortune; 
the third shows a document bearing the Governor's 
name and seal. The first was deceived by his dream ; the 
second by his priest; but each was as happy as the 
third, about whose pardon there could be no question. 
The faith of the first two had no sure foundation. 
The faith of the third rested on the attested Avord of 
the Governor. In our religion the only sure faith 
comes by the sure word of God. 



THE REMISSION OF SINS. 165 

Another says, 1 am conscious of forgiveness. 
Consciousness is that inner sense by which we know, 
without depending on the outward senses; or the state 
of being aware of one's existence, and of one's men- 
tal acts and states. I am conscious of remembering 
that I was present at the World's Fair. Destroy all 
the five senses, and I may still be conscious of my 
own mental acts and state. When a man says he is 
conscious of forgiveness, he uses very strong lan- 
guage. But can this be true ? Forgiveness is not his 
act. Forgiveness does not take place in his heart. 
Forgiveness is a sovereign act of God; and He alone 
can be conscious of forgiving. The sinner is con- 
scious of believing that he has been forgiven, and con- 
scious of the joy that fills his heart because he so be- 
lieves. This brings us back again to the ground of 
faith. The only sure ground is the Word of God. 

Now let us consider the text. 

1. "It behooved Christ to sufier." He laid the 
foundation for a general amnesty proclamation, by his 
suflTerings on the cross; and assured the world of his 
power to forgive sins, by his resurrection fi*om the 
dead. He made repentance available for men. "He 
declared the righteousness of God, for the remission 
of sins that are past, * * that he might be just 
and the justifier of him who belie veth in Jesus." 

2. "Among all nations." "God so loved the 
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life." This proclamation of mercy was not 
to be limited to one nation, or to one generation. 



166 THE REMISSION OF SINS. 

"The promise is to you, and to your children, and to 
all who are afar off, even to as many as the Lord our 
God shall call." 

3. "In his name" — by his authority. "All au- 
thority hath been given to me in heaven and in earth. 
Therefore, go ye and make disciples of all nations." 
There can be no question about His power to forgive 
sins, and there is comfort in this assurance. Here is 
a soldier under sentence of death, for sleeping on 
guard. His fellow soldiers forgive him. His captain, 
and colonel, and general, all forgive him, but he is not 
comforted. The sentence of death still hangs over 
him. There rides into camp a messenger, bearing a 
pardon, signed by the President, the Commander and 
Chief of the army and navy, and from which there can 
be no apjjeal. This pardon is an absolute release from 
condemnation. The soldier shouts for joy. Nor will 
the rebel against God, under sentence of condemna- 
tion on account of sin, be happy, unless his pardon 
comes from the highest authority. And if the Great 
King issues a proclamation of amnesty and peace, 
upon certain conditions. His "all authority" stands 
back of the conditions. 

4. "Beginning at Jerusalem." If a United 
States marshal has been directed to make a procla- 
mation, all over the State of Ohio, beginning at 
Columbus ; and if we know what that proclama- 
tion was in Columbus, we also know what it 
will be when the marshal shall have reached other 
places in the State. Repentance and remission of sins 
were to be preached among all nations, beginning at 



THE REMISSION OF SINS. 167 

Jerusalem. If we can ascertain how the apostles 
preached repentance and remission of sins in Jerusa- 
lem, we will know how^ they " preached repentance 
and remission of sins" in Corinth and Rome; and how 
this message must be preached here in our tow^n or 
country. Evidently the sermon at Jerusalem was to 
be a model sermon. 

There is much in a right beginning. Few things 
of value can be secured without it. If your son wants 
an education, or wants to learn a trade or a profession, 
or to build up a business, you are anxious that he shall 
begin at the right place. Here is a man who has 
fallen heir to a valuable piece of real estate, and wants 
to know its boundaries. He employs a surveyor who 
tells him that it matters not where he begins — and that 
the important thing is to begin somewhere, (as I once 
heard a minister say to an inquiring sinner). His 
survey proves a failure. He employs another, who 
believes that success depends on a right beginning. 
He spends a day or two seeking for the beginning 
corner, and, making up his mind that he has found it, 
he sets down his staff and strikes a rock. He examines 
it, and finds its exact description in the original field 
notes. He looks for other witnesses, and finds them 
in three trees of different kinds and sizes, and at 
different angles and distances from the corner. Here 
are eighteen particulars agreeing with the testimony 
of the original surveyor. There is only the remotest 
probability that these particulars would be true of any 
other corner in the world. He proceeds with his 
survey, and finds, all along the lines, the other par- 



168 THE REMISSION OF SINS. 

ticulars named in the field notes, so that when the 
survey is finished, the result is unquestioned and un- 
questionable. 

Let us attach the same importance to this Scrip- 
ture. Jerusalem is the beginning corner for the 
survey of the Kingdom of Christ. Isaiah and Micah 
said, "And it shall come to pass, in the last days, that 
the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established 
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted 
above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. 
And many people shall go and say. Come ye, and let 
us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of 
the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, 
and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go 
forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jeru- 
salem. And he shall judge among the nations, and 
shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their 
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning 
hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
neither shall they learn war any more." 

Here is a prophetic announcement that the new 
law should go forth from Mt. Zion, and would be a 
power for salvation and peace among all nations. 
The old law went forth from Mt. Sinai, and was 
specially for one nation. Jesus said, "Begin at Jeru- 
salem, on Mt. Zion;" "Tarry at Jerusalem till ye be 
endowed with power from on high; " and Peter, 
speaking of the first fruits of the Gentiles, said, "The 
Holy Spirit fell on them as on us at the beginning;" 
and Joel said, " In Mt. Zion and Jerusalem shall be 
deliverance." 



THE REMISSION OF SINS. 169 

Now let us go up to Jerusalem and learn how the 
apostles "preached repentance and remission of sins." 
We find that they tarried ten days, and until the day 
of Pentecost, the anniversary of the going forth of the 
old law from Mt. Sinai, — a fitting occasion for the 
going forth of the new law from Mt. Zion. They 
waited to he clothed with power from on high, — for the 
coming of that promised Advocate, the Holy Spirit, 
who would call to their remembrance the teachings of 
Christ, and, through them, convince the world of sin, 
and of righteousness and of judgment. There was the 
sound as of a rushing mighty wind, and tongues of 
flame sat upon each of them, not unlike the voice of 
the trumpet, exceeding loud, when the Lord descend- 
ed in fire on Mt. Sinai. "They were all filled with the 
Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as 
the Spirit gave them utterance," indicating that they 
were messengers of God, and that they had a message 
for all nations. Peter then told them that this is that 
which' Joel said should come to pass in the last days, 
"before that great and notable day of the Lord come." 
He then appealed to many of his audience, as living 
witnesses of the miracles, and wonders, and signs 
which God wrought by Jesus of Nazareth; and told 
them that they had crucified and slain him by wicked 
hands; "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the 
pains of death, because it was not possible that he 
should be holden of it." His audience was familiar 
with the songs of David, and Peter brought him for- 
ward as a prophetic witness of this resurrection, when 
he said, "Thou shalt not leave my soul in hades, nor 



lYO THE REMISSION OF SINS. 

suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." "Therefore 
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn 
with an oath to him that, of the fruit of his loins, 
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit 
on his throne; he seeing this before, spake of the resur- 
rection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hades, 
neither did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus hath 
God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." He then 
went on to show how David had prophesied of his exal- 
tation, when he said: "The Lord said unto my Lord, sit 
thou on My right hand until I make thy foes thy foot- 
stool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know 
assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom 
ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." 

When the people heard this they were convinced 
of sin — the sin of unbelief — because they believed not 
in Jesus; of his righteousness, because he had been 
exalted to the right hand of God, and of judgment, 
because the Prince of this world is judged. "They 
were pricked in their heart, and said unto the apostles. 
Men and brethren, what shall we do ? " In Peter's 
reply we find the preaching of repentance and re- 
mission of sins : " Kepent and be baptized, every one 
of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission 
of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Spirit." About three thousand gladly received this 
word and were baptized, and rejoiced in the forgive- 
ness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Do you ask what evidence they had that their 
sins were pardoned? The best in the world — the 
immutable promise of an immutable God. Peter's 



THE REMISSION OF SINS. 171 

answer had in it the promise of God. Paul says, ^' As 
God is true, our word toward you was not yae and 
nay, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was 
preached among you by us * * was not yae and nay, 
but in him was yae; for all the promises of God in 
him are yae, and in him Amen, unto the glory of 
God by us." The voice of Peter was the voice of 
God. The implicit promise was the promise of God, 
and there was no question that God had forgiven 
according to His promise. And why may not a 
sinner put implicit confidence in the Word of God ? 

"Repent and be baptized, for the remission of 
sins." What God has joined together let no man put 
asunder. If it be objected that this is making too 
much of baptism, I answer that baptism is not only a 
beautiful symbol of our faith in a crucified, buried and 
risen Redeemer, but it is obedience as well, and, in 
every dispensation, God has made a great deal of 
obedience. It was disobedience which drove our first 
parents out of the garden of Eden, and Eden wiU 
be restored to those to whom God can say, " Blessed 
are you, because you have done My commandments, 
that you may have right to the tree of Life, and may 
enter in through the gates into the city." Besides, a 
positive commandment is a test of loyalty. "Repent" 
is a moral commandment — that is, right in itself — and 
commanded because it is right. "Be baptized" is a 
positive commandment — right because God com- 
manded it. We may obey a moral commandment 
because we see that it is good and just. We obey a 
positive commandment simply because God commands 



172 THE REMISSION OF SINS. 

it. It means a complete surrender to the will of 
God; and it is fitting at the threshold of His Kingdom. 

The Syrian prince sought counsel of God's prophet 
for the healing of his leprosy. The prophet did not 
tell him to do some great thing, lest he should boast 
of his works; nor did he give him a medical prescrip- 
tion, lest he should boast of the physician and his 
remedy; nor did he resort to the incantations of 
witchery, lest he should give the glory to the wizard. 
He simply said, " Go wash seven times in Jordan, and 
thou shalt be clean." This was a positive command- 
ment. There was no reason for his obedience except 
the command of the prophet of God. He obeyed and 
was healed. Not the water, nor, in a strict sense, his 
obedience, cleansed him, but God healed him because he 
met God where God had promised to meet him; and he 
came back glorifying the God of Israel. Likewise the 
three thousand, who gladly received the Word of God, 
and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, met 
God where God had promised to meet them, and God 
granted unto them "redemption, through the blood of 
Christ, even the forgiveness of sins." 

Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray, " forgive 
us our debts as we also forgive our debtors," and 
teaches us that the Father's forgiveness is conditioned 
upon our forgiving those who trespass against us. 
Now, if we are conscious that we have forgiven oth- 
ers, what more do we need than this promise of God, 
as evidence of His forgiveness ? And is not this infin- 
itely better than the dreams, and impulses, and feel- 
ings, on which so many have been taught to depend l 



THE REMISSION OF SINS. 173 

Not many years ago, a good woman told me that she 
looked at the minister with great surprise, when, in 
his exhortation, he said, "Is there a poor lost sinner 
here who is willing to take God at his word V She 
said to herself, "Has the preacher turned joker?" 
She had been taught that the sinner could not hear, 
believe and obey the gospel, without a miracle of 
grace. She looked again, and saw tears running down 
the good man's cheeks, "Why," said she, "A^ means 
what he says"; and instantly the thought came to her, 
"If the minister means what he says, why may not God 
mean what he He says ?" She gladly received the 
word, and went forward in obedience to the gospel; 
and Jesus' words came to her, "My peace I give unto 
you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let 
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 

" O happy day that fixed my choice 
On thee, my Savior and my God ! 
Well may this glowing heart rejoice, 
And tell its raptures all abroad. 



THE GREATEST QUESTION. 



There came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, 
Good Master, What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 
And Jesus said unto him * * Thou knowest the command- 
ments. Do not commit adultery, Do not kill. Do not steal, Do not 
bear false witness, Defraud not. Honor thy father and mother. 
And he answered All these have I observed from my youth. Then 
Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing 
thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to 
the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take 
up thy cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying and 
went away grieved, for he had great possessions. — Mark x : 17-22. 

JHE story of this man's coming to Jesus is thrice 
told in the gospels. Many had come to Jesus 
for temporal blessing, and many to listen to his dis- 
courses. "The common people heard him gladly." 
Great crowds had come to him because he was able 
and willing to minister to the comfort of the flesh. 
The mother of James and John had asked him to 
grant her sons prominent places in his kingdom. 
Another had asked him to settle a family dispute 
about an estate. A few had come to test his ortho- 
doxy, and a few to learn something about his coming- 
kingdom. Six months before this, a certain lawyer 
came tempting him, and asked, ''What shall I do to 
inherit eternal life ?" Jesus questioned him in turn, 
saying, "How readest thou ? What is written in the 
law?" The lawyer replied, "Thou shalt love God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 



THE GREATEST QUESTION. 175 

thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor 
as thyself." Jesus replied, "Thou hast answered 
right; this do and thou shalt live." Love to God and 
love to man — a full surrender to the will of God, and 
walking by the Golden Rule — these constitute the 
essence of all right rehgion. The lawyer practically 
knew little of either. His relio^ion was a form of god- 
liness without the power. Full of self-righteousness 
and self-justification, he was unable to take in the 
meaning of this answer. 

The man of our text came running; he was in 
earnest. He was reverent — kneeling in the presence 
of a recognized Teacher. He was personally con- 
cerned; — what shall 1 do? He may have been, many 
a time, an attentive listener to the discourses of Jesus. 
He may have heard him say that "God so loved the 
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth in him, should not perish but have ever- 
lasting life." He may have heard Peter say that Jesus 
"had the words of eternal life." He was familiar with 
the Scriptures, but Moses and the prophets said noth- 
ing about eternal life, and little about the resurrection 
of the dead. Jesus gave attention chiefly to those 
things which make up true manhood in this world; 
but all these seemed to point distinctly to the life be- 
yond this world, — the clear view of which was seen 
only after Jesus brought life and immortality to light 
through the gospel. Jesus said, "I am the Way;" 
"No man cometh to the Father but by me." "I am 
the Truth;" "The Truth shaU make you free." "I 
am the Life" — life revealing, life conveying, life sus- 



176 THE GREATEST QUESTION. 

taining, life perfecting. "I came that you might have 
life — my life — and that ye might have it more abun- 
dantly." "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall 
never die." What wonder that this man should come 
earnestly and reverently to the new Teacher for an 
answer to this greatest of all questions : "Good Mas- 
ter, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ?" 

Aside from the great question itself, there was 
much that made it an important event. He was the 
first man who came to Jesus deeply concerned about 
eternal salvation. He was young. Jesus was soon to 
set up a Church which was to have in hand the great- 
est enterprise of the centuries. The future of any 
important enterprise, depends much upon the quality 
of the young blood that may be brought into it. A 
long life was before this young man, and how valuable 
his services might become in the coming kingdom ! 

He was a ruler — probably of a synagogue. He 
had character and talent, and his seniors had promoted 
him to a prominent place. We may fairly judge of 
any enterprise by the character and talent of its rul- 
ers. The Church needs the rulers of society, of com- 
merce, and of state — men who have reached high 
places, and wield a wide influence. 

He was rich. He had great possessions. Jesus 
was poor. His disciples were poor. No great enter- 
prise can be carried to the highest success without 
money. Now-a-days the capital of the world is being 
combined in various ways, and put into the hands of 
intelligence and experience, looking to the best suc- 
cess. Christ is at the head of the greatest of enter- 



THE GREATEST QUESTION. 177 

prises. His disciples are his partners. They have 
put into this partnership, mind, and heart, and muscle, 
and purse. The aggregate makes a great capital. 
The Church needs, and has a right to ask for, conse- 
crated wealth. The consecrated man will have a con- 
secrated purse. 

He was moral. Few young men can say truth- 
fully what this young man said : "All the command- 
ments of the Decalogue have I kept from my youth." 
He was not a heathen. He kept the Sabbath in honor 
of his Creator. He was virtuous. He did not lie, 
nor steal, nor covet. He was a good neighbor, and a 
good citizen, and a good foundation had been laid for 
true discipleship. Jesus admired him. 

Nor did he think eternal life could be earned by 
doing^ as one earns money by a day's work. He 
looked at eternal life as an inheritance. His question 
means, What shall I do to become a child of God ? 
We inherit because we are children, not because we 
are servants. We get paid over and over for what we 
do for Christ, right here in this world. Eternal life 
is a gift. 

Notwithstanding all these excellent traits of char- 
acter, the young man was conscious of lack. "What 
lack I yet ?" There are scores of people to-day, who 
boast of their morality, not one of whom can show a 
record for morality equal to this young man's. Mor- 
ality is only a part of religion. The Decalogue, the 
highest code of morals, will not make us religious in 
the best sense. There are many people who keep this 



13 



178 THE GREATEST QUESTION. 

high code of morals, but they are not Christians. 
The Jew may keep it, and yet deny Christ. 

Jesus teaches the young ruler that eternal life is 
the inheritance of his disciples, and that supreme love 
is the test of discipleship. He tests the man's love 
by a commandment, as if to say: "Would you be my 
disciple ? Go sell all that you have, and give to the 
poor, and come take up the cross and follow me." 
This revealed the man to himself. There is nothing 
tests loyalty like a commandment. It was a test he 
could not stand. He went away sad at that saying, 
because he had great possessions. He loved wealth 
more than Jesus. " 'Take up the cross.' Take your 
life in your hands, and, if need be, lay it down for 
my sake. 'Follow me.' Turn your back on home 
and kindred. Love me more than father, mother, 
brother, sister, houses or lands. This it is to be my 
disciple, and this is the way to eternal life. If any 
one beUeves in me, with this intense faith, he shall live 
forever. Believe in me, love me, suffer with me, and 
you shall be a child of God, and joint-heir with me as 
the only begotten of the Father." 

Some one may say. Would you give this answer 
now? In principle, Yes; in every detail, No; for the 
selling of his goods, and giving to the poor was a spe- 
cial test, like many others in the Gospels. Jesus tested 
faith in many ways; "Take up thy bed and walk"; 
"Go wash in the pool of Siloam"; "Go show your- 
selves to the priests." It took strong faith in the 
paralytic, the blind man, and the ten lepers, to obey 
these commandments. 



THE GREATEST QUESTION. 179 

We must draw a line between Christ's answers to 
this great question before the cross, and his answers 
after the cross. The Gospel is compared to a will. 
Paul says a will is not in force until after the death 
of the testator. Before his death. Jesus bestowed 
blessings, and forgave sins, as his right, and upon such 
terms as he pleased. He forgave the penitent woman, 
because she loved much, as was manifest in her tears 
and sacrifices. He answered the cry of the thief on 
the cross, with a promise of Paradise. 'There are 
those who find in these answers, the answer of Christ 
to any penitent soul to-day. Many times we hear men 
say they would like to be saved like the thief was 
saved on the cross. I have never heard of one who 
wanted to be saved by walking in the path marked 
out for this young man. But why not ? 

I have said the Gospel is like a will. A rich man 
comes to your city. He takes sick, sends for an at- 
torney to make his will, and dies. Immediately, the 
news is spread abroad, that he was very kind to the 
poor. One tells how he gave him money to free his 
farm of mortgage; another of his pajdng a surgeon's 
bill for saving the life of a poor man's son ; another 
of his supplying the needs of a poor widow and her 
children. Then other poor people come forward and 
plead for help from the same treasury, and urge, 
truthfully, that, if he were living, he would hear and 
answer their cries. The administrator tells them that, 
while he was abve, he distributed his gifts as he saw 
the need; and did it wisely and well; but now all this 
wealth must be distributed according to his will; and 



180 THE GREATEST QUESTION. 

that, if he has laid down conditions, the conditions 
must be met. Now the apostles of Christ are the ad- 
ministrators of his will. "Whatsoever you bind on 
earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever you 
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." "Whose so- 
ever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them; 
whose soever sins you retain, they are retained." 

We must therefore turn to the Acts of Apostles, 
to find how they administered this will; or, dropping 
the figure, how they answered this great question. I 
hear some one say — There are four answers to this 
question in the Acts, and they dififer as widely as the 
answers in the Gospels: 

1. There is the answer to the Philippian jailor: 
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved, and thy house." (Acts xvi: 31.) 

2. The answer on the day of Pentecost: "Re- 
pent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, for 
the remission of sins." (Acts ii:38.) 

3. The answer to Saul of Tarsus: "Arise, and be 
baptized, and wash away thy sins, calhng on the name 
of the Lord." (Acts xxii: 16.) 

4. The answer to Simon Magus: "Repent and 
pray God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may 
be forgiven thee." (Acts viii: 22.) 

While these answers seem to difier, they really 
do not difier. There is but one way into the kingdom 
of God, and the record of conversions shows that all 
went that way, and entered upon a life of righteous- 
ness. Let me illustrate: A man presents to an attor- 
ney a document, and asks what he must do with it. 



THE GREATEST QUESTION. 181 

The lawyer examines it, and replies: "You and your 
wife must sign this deed, in the presence of witnesses, 
and acknowledge the signing before a notary, and 
then deliver it to the man to whom you sold the land, 
provided he has paid you the consideration. The man 
goes out, and another man enters with a deed, and 
asks the same question. The attorney looks at it, and 
tells him to acknowledge it before a notary, and goes 
on to the end as before. Immediately another enters 
with a deed, and, after examining it, the attorney tells 
him to deliver it to the purchaser. Still another en- 
ters with a deed, and he tells him to take it to the 
Recorder's office. Now, in fact, these several deeds 
passed through the same stages, but the lawyer, in 
each case, began his instructions with what he saw 
was lacking. 

The jailor had no faith, and Paul said, first 
of all, "Believe on the Lord Jesus." Paul says, 
"How shall they believe in him of whom they have 
not heard ? and how^ shall they hear without a 
preacher ?" So Paul preached to him, and to all in 
his house, that they might have faith. "Faith comes 
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Then 
the jailor showed signs of penitence in his washing 
the stripes of Paul and Silas, and, the same hour of 
the night, he was baptized, and rejoiced, "believing 
in God wdth all his house." Evidently the persons 
making up his household were adults. On the day of 
Pentecost, Peter preached the gospel, the people be- 
lieved, and cried out, "Men and brethren. What shall 
we do ?" Peter answered, "Repent and be baptized, 



182 THE GREATEST QUESTION. 

every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus." 
Three thousand gladly received this word, and were 
baptized, and praised God, and did eat their meat with 
gladness and singleness of heart. 

Paul came to believe in Jesus by the voice of 
Jesus himself; then repented of his sins, and at the 
command of the Lord, by Ananias, arose and was 
baptized, and entered joyfully upon the work to which 
Christ had called him. Simon Magus was a sorcerer 
— an ancient spiritualist — in the City of Samaria, who 
bewitched the people, giving out that "he was some 
great one." "But when they believed Philip, preaching 
the things of the kingdom of God, and the name of 
Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and 
women. Then Simon believed also; and when he was 
baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, be- 
holding the miracles and signs which were done." 
He believed and obeyed, as the others believed and 
obeyed, but his faith was not very enduring. His old 
habits of life began to re-assert themselves, and he 
offered the apostles money, saying, "Give me also this 
power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may re- 
ceive the Holy Spirit." Peter said, "Thy money per- 
ish with thee ^ ^ The gift of God may not be 
purchased with money ^ ^ Thy heart is not right 
in the sight of God." Clearly the man had gone back 
to the 1 weak and beggarly elements of the world. He 
was a back-slider, — a stony-ground hearer — who had 
no root in himself, and endured only for a little while. 
To him Peter said, "Repent, therefore, of this thy 



THE GREATEST QUESTION. 183 

wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thoujsjht of 
thy heart may be forgiven thee." 

These answers were like the answers of the attor- 
ney concerning the deeds; they began w^ith what 
was lacking. But in every case of true discipleship, 
there were : 

1. Faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the 
living God. 

2. Repentance unto life. 

3. Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. 
-1. Joy and peace in Jesus Christ. 

5. Continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doc- 
trine, in the fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in 
prayers. They had also the assurance, that if they 
sinned and repented, they had an Advocate with the 
Father, even Jesus Christ, the Righteous, "who is 
faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us fi'om 
all unrighteousness." 

Now this is the present salvation promised by 
Christ: "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be 
saved?'' The Lord added the '^saved'^^ to the church. 
Peter says these are the elect, and are kept by the 
power of God, through faith, unto salvation ready to 
be revealed in the last time." This is eternal salva- 
tion — eternal life. 

To attain unto this salvation, Peter teaches and 
exhorts as follows: "Yea, and for this very cause, add- 
ing on your part all diligence, in your faith, supply 
virtue; and in your virtue knowledge; and in your 
knowledge self-control; and in your self-control pa- 
tience; and in your patience godliness; and in your 



184 THE GREATEST QUESTION. 

godliness love of the brethren, and in your love of the 
brethren, love. For if these things are yours and 
abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful 
unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For 
he that lacketh these things is blind — seeing only 
what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from the 
old sins. Wherefore, brethren, give the more dili- 
gence to make your calling and election sure; for if 
ye do these things ye shall never stumble; for thus 
shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into 
the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ." 

We come back to first principles — the lesson 
taught the young ruler — to find the inspiration for the 
efibrt which is to be crowned with glorious success. 
His great lack was supreme devotion to Christ. And 
is not this the one thing needful all along the jour- 
ney? How to abide in his love; how to keep the fire 
of this love constantly aglow ; how to forget the things 
that are behind, and to reach forth to the things that 
are before; how to be rooted and grounded in love, 
and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowl- 
edge — these are the anxious questions of the true dis- 
ciple, which send him often to his knees to ask God 
for that wisdom "which He giveth to all liberally, and 
upbraideth not." The spirit may be willing, but the 
flesh is so weak; and the temptations may be so strong, 
that we often stumble and fall. Thank God for the 
provision he has made by which we may come to him 
through a Mediator, "who has been tempted like as 
we are, yet without sin," and can be "touched with 



THE GREATEST QUESTION. 185 

the feeling of our infirmities." "Let us therefore 
draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that 
we may receive mercy, and may find gi*ace to help us 
in time of need." 

This young man went away from Christ, and from 
riches in Christ, worth more than all the wealth of the 
world. He went away from the peace which only 
Christ can give, — the only enduring peace; from the 
joy of unselfish service; from communion with all that 
is highest and holiest. He sold his birthright for a 
mess of pottage. He held onto the world, and lost 
his soul. He chose to be rich, as men count riches, 
for a very little while, and to be a pauper through all 
eternity. What shall it profit to gain the whole world 
and lose the priceless soul? He went away sad; and 
to be made sadder, by the loss of the one great oppor- 
tunity of his life. "It might have been" — the saddest 
words of tongue or pen. 

O, young man, with bright prospects of many 
years, what are you going to do with these years? 
What are you putting into life that is worth saving ? 
This life is not worth the living only as you can make 
it part of life eternal. There is no hope worth the 
naming, only as it anchors the soul to God. Turn not 
away from Him who is the Way, the Truth, the Resur- 
rection, and the Life. 



WHAT IS CONVEKSION ? 



"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull 
of hearing, and their eyes they have closed ; lest at any time they 
should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should 
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should 
heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, 
for they hear."— MaTT. xiii: 15-16. 



nHE Savior gives great emphasis to conversion, 
when he says, "Except ye be converted and be- 
come as little children, ye shall not enter into the 
kingdom of heaven." (Matt. xviii:3.) In the text, 
he complains of the people because they closed their 
eyes, and their ears, and hardened their hearts, "lest 
they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, 
understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I 
should heal them." There are none so blind as those 
who will not see, none so deaf as those who will not 
hear, none so reprobate as those whose hearts are car- 
nal; and none so far from the kingdom, as those who 
resist all the blessed influences that may bring them 
to it. "Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your 
ears, for they hear." 

Evidently Jesus expected conversion to follow 
in a certain order. "Seeing with the eyes," — 
beholding his miracles, and recognizing the evi- 
dence that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. 
"Hearing with the ears" — giving attention to the re- 
vealed truth. "Understanding with the heart" — such 



WHAT IS CONVERSION. 187 

an understanding as makes us anxious for our safety, 
and obedient to God's will. There are many who 
hear, but do not even understand with the mind; 
there are many who understand with the mind, but 
do not understand with the heart. To understand 
with the heart is to enter into the meaning of the les- 
son to the individual soul, and to desire the blessing 
which God offers. "Conversion" is turning unto the 
Lord. "Healing" — God's healing — Mark explains by 
calling the "forgiveness of sins." (Mark 4-12.) The 
divine order, therefore, is: 1. Seeing and hearing. 
2. Understanding with the heart. 3. Conversion. 
4. Forgiveness. Nor must these be confounded. 
Seeing is not hearing, understanding with the heart 
is not conversion, conversion is not healing. We are 
to see, hear, understand, convert, and God will heal. 

Now, what does "convert" mean ? Your dictionary 
says "convert" means "to change into another state or 
form." We may convert corn into bread. We may 
convert corn into whisky. This book was once rags; 
the rags were converted into paper, the paper into a 
book. In the text it means to change from a sinful 
course to a life of righteousness and peace — a change 
from a worse to a better condition. 

In the original, the word here translated "convert" 
is epist'repho — literally tu^rn upon. The sinner is going 
away from God. He is facing sin-ward, ruin-ward, 
hell-ward. The Gospel is the voice of Jesus Christ 
calling him to return. "Turn ye sinners, why will ye 
die." The sinner hears this warning voice, and, 
touched by its tenderness and love, "turns upon" his 



188 WHAT IS CONVERSION. 

course; — not at right angles, not half way, but obeying 
the "face about wheel" of the great Captain of our 
Salvation, he faces toward God and Heaven. He 
turns with his mind, his heart, his body, his possessions. 
Whatever he is, whatever he has, he lays at the feet of 
Jesus, and says, "Here Lord I give myself to thee." 
Nor is this word passive in the Greek, as every 
scholar knows. Perhaps it never would have been 
translated "be converted," but for the bad theology, 
and worse anthropology of Calvinism and Arminian- 
ism. It was a clear case of the translator putting 
unscriptural theology into the text. It was a 
rendering as unhappy as it was unfaithful. It 
robbed the gospel of its power, made the sinner 
feel no personal responsibility, and made God 
alone responsible for his rescue. Calvinism and 
Arminianism teach that man is dead to all divine 
appeals; — that he cannot think a good thought, 
nor do a good deed; — that he is as dead spiritually as 
Lazarus was dead physically; — and, as the words of 
Christ could not bring Lazarus back from the grave, 
without the accompanying miraculous power, so the 
gospel cannot, of itself, be heard, nor its tender plead- 
ings be felt, without the accompanying miraculous 
power of the Holy Spirit. This was the theology of 
the time when the common version was given to the 
world. The late Revision, — the work of the ripest 
scholars of Europe and America — renders this Script- 
ure as follows : 

"And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, 
which saith, 



WHAT IS CONVERSION. 189 

'By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand ; 
And seeing ye shall see, and in no wise perceive: 

For this people's heart is waxed gross, 

And their ears are dull of hearing, 

And their eyes they have closed ; 

Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes. 

And hear with their ears, 

And understand with their heart, 

And should turn again. 

And I should heal them.' " 

The Scriptures everywhere represent the sinner 
as a responsible being. The Gospel is adapted to man 
as he is. He has ears to hear, and therefore he is ex- 
pected to hear and live. He has a mind that can be 
enlightened, and a heart that can feel, and a conscience 
that may be qaickened, and a will that may be moved; 
and therefore Jesus has put into the Gospel that which 
will enlighten the mind, warm the heart, quicken the 
conscience, and move the will. "Blessed are your 
ears because they hear," your minds because they 
think, and your hearts because they feel. 

We have said that conversion is very comprehen- 
sive. The whole man, with all his powers, — mind, 
heart, will, body, purse — turns unto the Lord. Per- 
haps some here may say this is orthodox, — but has 
baptism anything to do with conversion ? Not if con- 
version is a miracle. I do not wonder that good 
people hold up their hands in holy horror, when we 
say baptism has something to do with conversion, be- 
cause these good people have been taught to believe 
that every conversion is as great a miracle as raising 
Lazarus from the dead. If so, it would be absurd to 
say baptism can have anything whatever to do with 



190 WHAT IS CONVERSION. 

conversion. But if conversion is turning unto the 
Lord, as the Scriptures clearly teach, may not baptism 
have a part in it? On the day of Pentecost, Peter said 
to inquirers after the way of Salvation, "Repent and 
be baptized, every one of you, in the name of the 
Lord Jesus, for the remission of sins, and you shall re- 
ceive the gift of the Holy Spirit." A few days later 
he said to inquirers, "Repent and turn, that your sins 
may be blotted out, that seasons of refreshing may 
come from the presence of the Lord." In these two 
answers we may look for a correspondence. It is the 
same kingdom, and entrance into it must be by the 
same steps. In both answers we have "Repent." 
"The forgiveness of sins" is the same as the "blotting 
out of sins"; the "gift of the Holy Spirit" is equiva- 
lent to "seasons of refreshing from the presence of 
the Lord." "Be baptized" must be the same as 
"turn" in this Scripture — not that baptism is the 
whole of conversion, but because, thus early in the his- 
tory of the Christian Church, the convert gave to the 
world the final sign of his conversion in baptism. 
Clearly, in the mind of the apostle, baptism had some- 
thing to do with conversion. Let me use a familiar 
illustration. Two persons stand before me, and, after 
a few expressions of faith and troth, I pronounce 
them lawfully married. You go home and say to 
your friends. There was a wedding at church to-day. 
What had this ceremony to do with the marriage? It 
did not change their hearts toward each other, for 
they had loved each other with an intense love for 
many months. It did not change their purpose, for 



WHAT IS CONVERSION. 191 

they had sworn allegiance, the one to the other, before 
they came to the altar. But it had so much to do 
with the marriage, that you call it the "wedding," 
when you say, "There was a wedding at church 
to-day." And yet it was simply the final step, and 
by no means an unimportant step. This ceremony 
does eftect a change. It changes the relation of the 
parties to each other, to society, and to the state. 
The woman goes away from the altar wearing a new 
name, — the name of her husband, — and claiming a 
right to his protection, and to an interest in his estate. 
The two have been made one. She goes to the store 
and makes purchases, and the merchant recognizes 
her full riorht to have them charo^ed to her husband. 
If he should die to-morrow, she can claim a third in- 
terest in all his possessions; and if she should die, he 
can claim a life interest in her separate estate. And 
all these personal privileges and legal rights, have 
come to them by way of a little ceremony. The whole 
state stands back of these acquired rights, and will 
enforce them. Wesley well says, "We are married to 
Christ by baptism"; and again, "Grafted into Christ 
by baptism." We have never claimed for baptism 
more than this, when considered in its relation to con- 
version. Ten thousand baptisms can not change the 
heart. The value of baptism, like the marriage cere- 
mony, is in the authority by which it is done. The 
marriage ceremony is authorized by the state, and it 
is done in the name of the state, and this gives it the 
sanction of the "powers that be," which are ordained 
of God. Baptism is authorized by Him who has all 



192 WHAT IS CONVEKSION. 

authority in heaven and on earth. It is this highest 
authority which gives it value. Moreover, Christ says 
"he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" — for- 
given — and this is the "healing" of my text. 

But who can be baptized "in the name of the 
Lord?" Only those whom he has authorized. We 
have no record anywhere that he authorized the bap- 
tism of any person, young or old, who believed not 
on Him. He must be capable of faith. "He that 
helieveth and is baptized." If he is not capable of 
faith, he is not responsible. Jesus said of little chil- 
dren, who had been brought to him, "Of such is the 
kingdom of heaven." The object of preaching is, first 
of all, to produce faith, for "faith cometh by hearing 
and hearing by the Word of God." Peter preached 
the Word of God, and Luke says, "When they heard 
this they were pricked in their heart" — that is, they 
believed the preaching, and believed in Jesus, the 
Christ, and said, "Men and brethren, what shall we 
do" ? All this implies intelligence, and a sense of re- 
sponsibility in the hearers. Peter answered, "■Eepent 
and be baptized." So we see that the great King has 
authorized the baptism of penitent believers, and no 
others. The baptism of any other person is worthless, 
because it is not authorized. 

But what has repentance to do with conversion ? 
Repentance has to do with a change of mind or will, 
and a consequent change of character. It is not 
godly sorrow, for Paul says, "Godly sorrow worketh 
repentance unto salvation, a repentance which bring- 
eth no regret." Repentance is ceasing to do evil, and 



WHAT IS CONVERSION. 193 

learning to do well. Jesus says the people of Nineveh 
repented at the preaching of Jonah. They "put on 
sack cloth and ashes," symbols of uncleanness, and 
"cried mightily unto the Lord", — a confession of sins, 
and "turned every one from his evil way," — a refor- 
mation of character. Paul had occasion to rebuke 
the Church at Corinth for their sins. It had a good 
effect. In his second letter he rejoiced that they 
"sorrowed to repentance," and described their repent- 
ance as follows: "What carefulness it wrought in 
you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, 
what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what 
revenge. In all things you have approved yourselves 
to be clear in this matter." (2 Cor. vii:ll.) "Care- 
fulness" — as to words and deeds; "clearing your- 
selves" — apologizing — making restitution wherein 
they had injured another; "indignation and revenge" 
— filled with righteous indignation against wrong, and 
taking revenge upon their old habits; "vehement de- 
sire" — an all-controlling desire to do the will of God; 
"zeal" — the soul aflame with enthusiasm; "fear" — 
born of love for God — fearing to offend one so full of 
goodness and love. "Clear in this matter" — pure, 
since they had turned away from sinning against God, 
and against their fellowmen. 

Repentance is character-building. There must 
be the strong purpose to live soberly, righteously, and 
godly in this present world. John said, "Bring 
forth fruit meet for repentance." 

But while such repentance is a "ceasing to do evil, 
and a learning to do well," is it practicable without a 



14 



194: WHAT IS CONYEKSION. 

deeper change ? Can a man live a righteous life by 
mere force of will? Nay, verily; for "out of the heart 
are the issues of life." "As a man thinketh in his 
heart, so is he." "Out of the heart proceed evil 
thoughts." We speak and act "out of the abundance 
of the heart." Therefore there must be a change of 
heart. 

Paul says, "Faith works by love," and Peter says, 
"Faith purifies the heart." This faith comes by 
hearing the Word. The apostles preached Christ, — 
all his loveliness and power, — and showed the world's 
great need of his saving grace, in order that men 
might believe on him, with all the heart, and be saved. 
A change of heart is the radical change which makes 
a change of life possible. Neither repentance, nor 
obedience to the Lord's commandment to be baptized, 
can follow, Scripturally, without it. 

But what does "heart" mean ? The Savior says, 
"Where your treasure is, your heart will be." Here 
it means the affections. Solomon says, "The heart of 
the wise man is in the house of mourning, but the 
heart of the fool is in the house of mirth." Here the 
word is used for the atiections — the sympathies. 
"Absalom stole the hearts of the children of Israel." 
He stood at the king's gate, greeted the people with 
kisses and apparent kindness; told them that their 
matters were good and right, but that there was no 
one deputed of the king to hear them. "O, that 1 
were made judge in the land, that every man which 
hath any suit or case might come to me, and 1 would 
do him justice." And so Absalom stole their aftec- 



WHAT IS CONVERSION. 195 

tions. They came to believe in him more than in 
David, his father, and rallied to his standard; and it 
cost twenty thousand lives to subdue that rebellion. 
So, also, Jesus steals our hearts, not by false pretenses, 
but by real worth, and holy love, and faithful promises. 
We come to believe in him, as we believe in God, and 
rally to his standard, and rejoice with him in the vic- 
tories of the cross. 

On the day of Pentecost they that "gladly re- 
ceived the Word" obeyed the gospel. "Gladly" is a 
heart word. The gospel touched the heart, and 
quickened the conscience, and faith worked by love 
and purified the heart. 

There is no mystery in this. "The Word of God 
is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged 
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul 
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a dis- 
cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." 
(Heb. iv:12.) The Word of God is living and life- 
giving. Jesus Christ said, "The words that I speak 
unto you, they are spirit and they are life." The Word 
of God is called the Sword of the Spirit — because it was 
dictated by the Spirit of God. It can penetrate where 
no other sword can penetrate, — into the inmost re- 
cesses of the heart. The Word of God is the only 
voice which the human conscience will respect. 

Some of you have been taught that the Word of 
God is a dead letter, that man can not hear with 
profit; that he cannot be made to feel, only as God 
works in him "to will and to do of his good pleasure." 
True, man can not, by his own wisdom, find out God. 



196 WHAT IS CONVERSION. 

The natural man — the uninspired man — can not know 
the things of God, except as they are revealed. His 
word is His revealed will, and it is by this word that 
He works in us to will and to do of His pleasure. Why 
does God speak to us if He knows we can not hear? 
Why does He exhort us, if He knows we can not be 
moved to obedience? Why does He give us the gos- 
pel, if He knows we can not be influenced by it ? 
What need is there of this gospel, if every conversion 
is a miracle of God's grace, and power ? There is no 
other doctrine in all the Scriptures so clearly taught 
as this doctrine of personal responsibility, arising from 
the fact that we can hear, can understand, can love, 
can will, can obey. God works in us to will and to do 
of his pleasure by the gospel, "the power of God unto 
Salvation"; and what God works in, we must work 
out. "Work out your salvation with fear and trem- 
bling." "Save yourselves from this untoward genera- 
tion." God can not save a man who will not be saved. 
"Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." 
But can the Word of God change the heart ? 
Why not ? We can change the heart of one man 
toward another by human words. Has God's word 
less power? Let me illustrate: Here is a man who 
says he hates his neighbor. He will not have any- 
thing to do with him. He avoids meeting him on the 
street. I lecture him for this manifestation of un- 
kindness. I tell him it is unmanly and unwise, and 
ask him to go into deep penitence. This has little 
efiect. I pray with him, and for him, but still he is 
unchanged. I turn to him and say: "Do you remem- 



WHAT IS CONVERSION. 197 

ber when you were very sick last summer, that your 
physician said your wife must have a respite, for she 
had nearly worn out her life for you, and that you 
must have a stronger nurse or you would die ?" 
"Yes, that was a sad hour in our home." "And do 
you remember that a man came every night, for two 
long weeks, and nursed you back to life V "How can 
I forget all that. And though he was a stranger, 
he refused any compensation ?" "Well, my dear sir, 
this very man that you hate procured this trained 
nurse and paid him out of his own pocket. And do 
you remember how your larder grew empty, and how 
your wife found, at your door, a rich supply for your 
need?" "Yes; my wife said the angels brought it." 
"Well, this very man you hate was the angel who 
brought it. And do 3^ou remember how your crop 
was neglected, so you had no money to meet the last 
note of the indebtedness on your home ; and how that 
old money lender threatened foreclosure; and how 
happy you were when the mail brought you the note 
and mortgage canceled ? Well, this very man you 
hate did that, too." The relentless heart is touched 
by this story of love, and he exclaims: "O, how I 
have hated him without a cause," and now he is ready 
to fall at his feet in tearful recognition of his kindness 
and love. Have I not changed his heart toward his 
neighbor, by the use of facts, clothed in human words ? 
And is there nothing in the story of God's love, — 
nothing in the gift of His Son, — nothing in the ago- 
nies of Gethsemane and the cross, — nothing in all 
these manifestations of God's overwhelming grace, to 



198 WHAT IS CONVERSION. 

touch the hearts of those who are hating Jesus with- 
out a cause? Believe it who can ! Such a thing is 
the absurdest absurdity. That so many good people 
should have accepted it as God's truth, is a great mys- 
tery, and can be accounted for only by the fact that 
sectarianism, as well as Romanism, has taken the key 
of knowledge away from the common people. 

Coming to know and to love Jesus is not more 
difficult than coming to know and love a friend, ex- 
cept that to know Jesus means self-denial and cross- 
bearing for his sake; — sacrifices which the stubborn 
heart is often unwilling to make. Several years ago, 
Wm. Hayden noticed, in his audience, a woman weep- 
ing every time the gospel invitation was extended. 
One evening he walked down the aisle and said to her, 
"My dear friend, why do you hesitate when Jesus in- 
vites ?" "O," said she, "I have been waiting twenty 
years for a change of heart. I have been praying 
twenty years for this change, and when that time 
comes, nothing will give me so much joy as to pub- 
licly confess His name." "Do you love God V asked 
the minister. "Do you love Jesus ? Do you love the 
word of God ? Do you love God's people ?" "If I 
know my heart, I do. Nothing gives me more joy 
than to believe that God is love, that Jesus is my 
Savior, and altogether lovely; and meeting with God's 
people is a foretaste of heaven itself." "Why, then, 
do you pray for a change of heart ? Do you not know 
that if your heart were changed you would hate God; 
hate Jesus Christ; hate God's word and God's people; 
it seems to me that you have now just such a heart as 



WHAT IS CONVERSION. 199 

God approves." Presented in this simple way, she 
saw the truth, and went forward in obedience to the 
gospel. Here was a woman who had been taught to 
look for some mysterious change of heart, and had 
been kept waiting twenty years at the door of the 
kingdom. 

When we come to love what Jesus loves, and as 
he loves, the heart has not only changed, but it has 
come unto the perfection of love. Out of such a 
heart flows every holy virtue. Repentance flows from 
the heart that has been purified by faith. Self-denial 
flows from such a heart; and when we come to love 
what Christ loves, and to hate what Christ hates, his 
yoke becomes easy, and his burden light. When 
Washington was a lad, he had a great desire to spend 
his life upon the sea. After long pleading, his mother 
finally gave her consent. The day of his departure — 
a proud day for the ambitious boy — came all too soon 
for the anxious mother. His baggage was stowed 
away in the waiting ship. He went round to bid the 
household good-bye. They all wept. Then he em- 
braced his mother. She wept as if her heart would 
break, and could only sob out her good-bye. Wash- 
ington stood a moment, brushed away the fast-falling 
tears, then said to a servant: "Go, bring back my 
trunk, and set it down in my room, for I can't do a 
thing that will break my mother's heart." Going to 
sea was to him a precious ambition. It had been in 
his thoughts by day, and dreams by night, for a long 
time; but dear as it all was, he gave it up for his 
mother's sake. So when the love of Christ constrains 



200 WHAT IS CONVERSION. 

US, we will surrender self, and all that naay be dear to 
us, even life itself, for Jesus' sake. Faith works by 
love and changes the heart, repentance changes the 
character, and baptism changes our visible relations to 
God and the world, and this is conversion — turning 
to the Lord — and God heals — forgives all our sins — 
and remembers them no more. 



WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT ! 



" What hath God wrought ! "—Num. 23:23. 

" He hath not dealt so with any nation." — Ps. 147 : 19. 

" On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell 
shall not prevail against it." — MatT. xvi : 18. 

''Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 
— Matt, xxviii : 20. 



HOD uses men and nations for the purposes of His 
I grace. He chose Abraham, and after him, Isaac 

and Jacob, for a great purpose: "In thee and thy 
seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." 
Paul says that seed was Jesus Christ. He also says 
that "To Israel pertaineth the adoption, and the glory 
and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the 
promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom, as 
concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, 
God blessed forever." All God's dealings with Israel 
must be interpreted in the light of this great mission. 
He gave to the children of Israel a land, and blessed 
them in basket and in store. He made of them a 
great nation; and, by His law, separated them from 
all other nations, and even forbade intercourse with 
other nations, that they might be and remain a distinct 
people. He gave them His word for their guidance, 
and rebuked and punished them for disobedience. He 
gave them a temple and a city, and met them at His 
altars with divine blessings. But, for their idolatry, He 
sufiered their enemies to destroy their city and their 
temple, lay waste their country and lead them into 
captivity, — and made them appear to Ezekiel as a 



202 WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 

valley of dry bones, without hope of revival: yet He 
restored them to their land, and preserved them to the 
fulfillment of His great promise. In this respect He 
dealt with this people, as with no other people. 
There runs all through the history of Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob, and all through the history of the children 
of Israel, the manifest Providence of the covenant- 
keeping God; and that Providence leading on to the 
coming of the Messiah. This element must not be 
lost sight of in any just review of this history. 
Granted that God made this promise, and we must 
also grant the Providence that watched over Israel as 
over no other people. Israel in the flesh was God's 
elect for a purpose. They were not an end^ but a 
means. That purpose accomplished, the Jews became 
as other nations before God, for God is not a respecter 
of persons. Israel in the spirit — the Church of Jesus 
Christ — are now God's elect. They are also a means, 
and not an end. Peter says, "Ye are a chosen gener- 
ation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar 
people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him 
who hath called you out of darkness into His marvel- 
ous light; which, in times past, were not a people, but 
now are the people of God." 

Jesus Christ was the end of the law for righteous- 
ness. All the Old Testament lines of Providence con- 
verge toward the Incarnation. All the fingers of type 
and promise point to the coming of the Messiah. 
There were four thousand years of preparation for 
this great event, and then, in the fullness of time, God 
sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 



AVHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 203 

in him should not perish, but have eternal life. The 
world needed a Savior. The history of Israel had 
emphasized the fact that law can not regenerate men. 
The history of Greece had emphasized the fact that 
men may be highly cultivated in art and science, in 
poetry and philosophy, and yet be deeply depraved. 
The history of Rome had emphasized the fact that 
might can never make right. At this time a mere 
nod from the Roman throne made the whole world 
tremble. The dominions of Rome reached from the 
Atlantic to the Euphrates, and from the Baltic to and 
across the Mediterranean. The Jews were subject to 
Rome, and had hope only in a Messiah that would 
disenthrall them, and establish a kingdom like David's. 
Every where else there was a confident expectation 
that the "Desire of all nations" would come to lift 
men to a higher plane, and make the world better and 
happier. 

And so Jesus came in the fullness of time. His 
great mission was first of all to mn men to himself, 
and make them like himself, as he is like God; to 
bring man into fellowship with himself, and with his 
Father, by faith in him, by obedience to his authority, 
and by that culture which develops Christlikeness. He 
came to set up his dominion in the soul. He came 
that we might have life — the true life — his life — and 
that we might have it more abundantly. He came 
that men might see with his eyes, hear with his ears, 
and love with the great loving heart. There is no hope 
in any scheme for the world's uplift that leaves Christ 
out. Christ in the minds and hearts of men, is the 



204 WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 

great need. Christ in the hearts of men will drive 
the demon out of society, out of commerce, out of 
politics. He will settle all the questicjns which dis- 
turb the family, the community, and the State. 

All the lines of Old Testament Providence lead 
up to Im'manuel — God-with-us; — and all the work of 
the Church, and the Providence of God, since the 
great Commission, lead on to the end, when man will 
he with God. 

To accomplish this great purpose, Jesus Christ 
organized His Church. He was himself the Founder, 
and the Foundation. Its creed, "Jesus is the Christ 
the Son of the living God." Its membership is made 
up of all those who believe in the one living God, and 
in Jesus as His only begotten Son ; and who heartily 
accept Him as their all-sufficient Teacher, Priest and 
King. This meant, Christ the one Head of the church, 
the one perfect and unchangeable Mediator; His word 
all-sufficient to instruct and to govern; His life the 
perfect model; His truth an upUfting and a regener- 
ating power. Here, too, was religious liberty. His 
apostles brooked no interference from ecclesiastical or 
civil rulers. "Whether it be right, in the sight of God, 
to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." 
It was one church with one Head, "one Lord, one 
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is 
above all, and through all, and in you all." 

This church is the spiritual Israel — the "holy 
nation" of which Peter speaks. Jesus said, "the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it," and "Lo, I am 
with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 



WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 205 

He taught His Church to pray "Thy kingdom come, 
Thy will be done in earth as in heaven." To his 
apostles he said, "Go make disciples among all the 
nations." To this church Jesus committed the greatest 
enterprise of the centuries. He assured it of final 
victory, when He promised to be its ever present 
Helper. He taught his disciples to pray for that 
which His Father will grant. Therefore Providence 
watches, with a sleepless eye, and guides with a per- 
severinof hand. Some one has said that "all veritable 
history is but the exponent of Providence." "Provi- 
dence is the light of history, and the soul of the world. 
God is in history, and all history has a unity, because 
God is in it." Another has said, "The work of 
Redemption is the sum of all God's providences." 
Every thing in the Old Testament history contributed 
directly or remotely to the coming of the Messiah and 
his work. All modern history has contributed, and 
will contribute to the final triumphs of redeeming 
love. God makes sure the promise that the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against His Church. The cur- 
rents of the world have always been against it. It 
has stood as founded on a rock. The armies of hell 
have been hurled against it, and it has not fallen. 
Satan has used fire and fagot, satire and wit, fashion 
and philosophy, science and civil power, intrigue and 
unrelenting hate, heresy and infidelity, fanaticism and 
misguided zeal — all in vain. Paul said, "If God be 
for us, who can be against us." The mse Gamaliel 
said, "If this counsel, or this work, be of men, it will 
come to naught. But if it be of God, ye can not 



206 WHAT HATH GOD WKOUGHT. 

overthrow it, lest haply ye be found to fight against 
God." "All things work together for good to them 
that love God." 

The apostles began their work in this faith — faith 
in man, faith in the Word, faith in God, faith in work, 
and hope in final victory. The results verified the 
promise of Christ. They convinced men of sin, of 
righteousness and of judgment to come. Three 
thousand were converted in a day. Five thousand were 
counted soon after. Then came persecution, the mar- 
tyred Steph en, and the scattered flock. But the scattered 
ones went everywhere preaching the Word; and Saul 
of Tarsus, who consented to the death of Stephen, 
became the Lord's chosen vessel to bear His name 
before the Gentiles and Kings and the children of 
Israel. Then came the larger triumphs of the gospel 
in Judea, Samaria, Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. 
Rome was then the world. From this highest summit 
of earthly power the light of the gospel shone to the 
remotest parts of the Roman Empire. Then came the 
destruction of Jerusalem, and the scattering of the 
Jews; and, wherever dispersed, they were living wit- 
nesses to the truth of prophecy, and to the judgments 
of God, who heard their cry on the night of the cruci- 
fixion, "His blood be on us and on our children." 
Then came the ten bloody persecutions. Nothing in 
all the heroic struggles of the first centuries of Church 
history, tells more eloquently that Christianity was a 
disturbing force, than this fact that it was bitterly 
persecuted. "These that have turned the world upside 
down, are come hither also," was the cry at Thessal- 



WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 207 

onica, and this was the cry everywhere in the Roman 
Empire. Mosheim says, "A principal reason of the 
severity mth which the Romans persecuted the 
Christians, seems to have been the abhorrence and 
contempt felt by the Christians for the religion of the 
Empire, which was so intimately connected with the 
form, and, indeed, with the very essence of its political 
constitution." "Christians dared to ridicule the ab- 
surdities of pagan superstition, and were ardent in 
their eflbrts to gain proselytes to the truth." Then 
their religion was without the pomp and parade of 
paganism. They had no sacrifices, temples, images, 
oracles or sacerdotal robes, without which the ignorant 
supposed there could he no religion; and hence, to the 
Roman mind. Christians were atheists. Some of these 
persecutions extended throughout the empire, and had 
the effect to call general attention to the reliofion of 
Christ, and to emphasize its power to sustain men 
under severest trials. God made the wrath of man to 
praise Him. 

Then came the gradual growth of the Man 
of Sin, the captivity of the Church in "Babylon 
the Great," and a thousand years of spiritual and in- 
tellectual darkness, — the mid-day of Roman Catholic 
power, and the midnight of the world's civilization. 
In the days of Nero and Diocletian, the state trampled 
the Church under foot. In the palmiest days of the 
Pope, the state was enslaved to the Cburch. The 
Pope took off the king's crown and put it on when he 
pleased. He marked out the metes and boundaries of 
kingdoms. Kings kissed his slipper, and held his stirrup 



208 WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 

when he mounted his horse ; kings counseled him with 
reference to laws, and wars and marriage. The Pope 
had put himself in place of God, the Virgin Mary in 
place of Jesus Christ, the traditions and command- 
ments of men in place of the Word of God. Eoman 
Catholicism was a mixture of Judaism, paganism, 
secularism, ecclesiasticism, and Diotrephianism. 
"Despotism, religious and civil, crushed the energies 
of immortal mind, and iniquity, like a flood, deep and 
broad, submerged all Europe." Gross ignorance pre- 
vailed. In a Church council held in 992, in Eome, 
it is said there was scarcely a person who knew the 
first element of letters. Corruption disgraced the 
Church, and the Church disgraced the world. 

The crusades stirred these stagnant waters of ig- 
norance and sin and struck the death blow to mental 
despotism. Blind and superstitious faith swept like a 
terrific storm over Europe and the East for nearly 
two hundred years. Anything is better than stag- 
nation. Dr. Kead says, "Though visionary in the 
extreme, and prodigal of life and treasure, and unsuc- 
cessful in their professed object, from all this con- 
fusion, came order; from all this darkness, light; and 
from the most miserable combination of evil, was 
educed a lasting good. The fountains of the great 
deep were now broken up, the stagnations of ignorance 
and corruption, which had, for centuries, choked and 
poisoned all that attempted to live and breathe and 
move in them, began to heave and give signs of such 
coming commotion as must, ere long, purify their 
putrid waters." 



AVHAT HATH GOD AVROUGHT. 209 

How true, of this period, the words of the poet: 

"Right forever on the scaffold; wrong forever on the throne, 
Yet that scaffold sways the future; and behind the dim unknown, 
Standeth God amid the shadows, keeping watch above his own." 

The crusaders saw^ the advanced condition of 
Greece and the Orient. In the land of their infidel 
enemies, they found schools, academies, libraries, 
learning; masters, instructors, commentators, orators, 
poets, philosophers; grammar, science, architecture, 
mathematics; and saw^ what a mighty advantage all 
these gave to the Moslem power. Then w^as started 
in Europe a spirit of bold inquiry, and specially a bold 
demand for truth^ out of which came the revival of 
learning. People were no longer satisfied with fiction, 
romance, and the legends of saints. The same spirit 
was found in halls of legislation and judicature. There 
was also a bold spirit of adventure and restless ambi- 
tion. Discovery Avas the mania of the day. The 
same leaven was found in the political lump, and the 
result was the end of feudalism, and the opening of 
the way for the successful struggle of Liberty. In 
England, King John was compelled to sign the Magna 
Charta — "the keystone of English liberty, the bulwark 
of constitutional law." The study of astronomy 
reveals unknown facts; the magnet comes to be better 
understood, and navigation becomes a science; a 
way to the East Indies is found around the Cape of 
Good Hope, and America is discovered. Providence 
is getting ready for enlargement. Then came the art 
of paper making and printing. God is getting ready 
to multiply his voice a thousand fold. He is getting 



15 



210 WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 

ready to lead his people back from Babylon to Jeru- 
salem, — out of darkness into light, out of bondage 
into liberty, out of idleness into ser\dce, out of shame 
into glory. He is getting ready for Wickliffe and 
Huss and Luther. 

Luther's Reformation was, first of all, a protest 
against spiritual wickedness in high places, and then 
against the prevailing ignorance of the Word of God, 
which had been taken away from the people, and 
specially against the Pope usurping the place of 
Christ, as the head of the Church, and substituting 
the doctrines and commandments of men for the 
Word of God. It was a protest against ecclesiastical 
despotism, and a plea for religious liberty. Luther 
was an Ezra, restoring to the spiritual Israel the Word 
of God, and pleading for repentance. Necessarily 
this meant a study of the Bible, in an atmosphere per- 
meated with the Jewish idea that civil government 
must necessarily embrace religion, as in the theocracy 
of Moses; with the idea that kings rule by divine 
anointing, as did David, and that the Pope was the 
great prophet of God, whose duty it was to rebuke 
kings, as Samuel did Saul, and as Nathan did David. 
From such conditions, and in such an environment, 
the step to the fullest religious liberty was not easy. 

d'Aubigne says, "What the Augsburg Confession 
stigmatizes with the greatest energy, is the intrusion 
of the Church into the afi'airs of the State. What the 
confessors of Augsburg demand, is their independ- 
ence; I do not say their separation, for separation of 
Church and State was quite unknown to the reformers." 



WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 211 

However this may have been, the principles of the 
Lutheran Reformation laid the foundation for both 
civil and religious liberty. It is only in Protestant 
countries that men enjoy the fullest religious liberty; 
and only in Protestant countries that God's truth has 
made free men. At the celebration of the 400th an- 
niversary of Luther's birth, the whole world of learn- 
ing, benevolence, and poKtics, Protestant and Catholic 
alike, paid tribute to his memory, and recognized the 
mighty power of his work and life in favor of all that 
is best in the world's ci\dlization. 

Coming back to this question of Church and 
State, we find that in England, the king was made 
head of the Church, and that the English Parliament 
made laws for her government. The pope had en- 
slaved the State to the Church. Henry the YHI en- 
slaved the Church to the State. The Independents 
lifted up an earnest protest against this. They con- 
tended that the Church of Christ is made up of be- 
lievers in Christ, who, in religious matters, owe alle- 
giance only to Christ, and boldly declared that, in sec- 
ular matters only, would they be subject to the powers 
that be. Civil and religious liberty was having a 
struggle to free itself from the persecuting heirarchy 
of the half -reformed reliction of Eno^land in the ITth 
century. 

This was another mile-stone on the way from 
Babylon to Jerusalem, and a remarkable advance, both 
for ci\T.l government and the Church. Persecuted in 
England, the Puritans found refuge, at first, in Hol- 
land, and afterward began a settlement on the rocky 



212 WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 

coast of New England, to establish a State without a 
king, and a Church without a bishop. The discovery 
of America falls into the unfolding plaa for the salva- 
tion of the world. The Christian religion thrives and 
expands and bears its best fruit, only in a land conse- 
crated to civil and religious liberty. The spirit of 
adventure had moved upon the stagnant waters of the 
old world, and it found no rest till it touched the 
shores of the new world. God was preparing a larger 
place for the triumphs of His gospel. At first America 
was subject to Roman Catholic governments, but, 
piece by piece, this great land has fallen from the 
grasp of the Pope, and been given into the hands of 
Protestants. The pilgrims came in the fullness of 
time. "Had New England," says the historian of 
those times, "been colonized immediately on the dis- 
covery of the American continent, the old English 
institutions would have been planted, under the power- 
ful influence of the Roman Catholic religion. Had 
the settlement been made under Elizabeth, it would 
have been before the activity of the popular mind in 
religion had conducted to a corresponding activity of 
mind in politics. The Pilgrims were Englishmen, 
Protestants, exiles for religion, men disciplined for 
misfortune, cultivated by opportunities of extensive 
observation, equal in rank, as in rights, and bound by 
no code but that which was imposed by religion, or 
might be created by the public will. America opened 
as a field of adventure, just at the time when mind 
began to assume its independence, and religion its 
vitality." Wickliffe was the father of the Puritans. 



WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 213 

Though dead and his bones burned, his spirit still 
lived. And the principles which gave strength and 
power to the Lutheran Reformation bore fi'uit in the 
settlement of New England and the formation of this 
great Republic. The Pilgrims were God's mission- 
aries to lay foundations on which to build a magnilicent 
superstructure, — a Nation born of the thought that 
"All men are created free and equal," and founded on 
the truth that "the just powers of government are de- 
rived from the consent of the governed," — a Nation 
which, while protecting its subjects in every civil and 
religious right, offers the freest and widest field for 
the display of the Christian religion. 

Passing on to the eighteenth century we come to 
another mile-stone, — the Wesleyan reformation, — a 
protest against the form of godliness without the power 
— a protest against having a name to live, and yet 
being dead. Wesley and his coadjutors plead for a pure 
evangelical religion. They sought to quicken into 
life the dormant energies of the church. The effects 
of their preaching were astonishing. "At a time of 
the most melancholy spiritual lethargy, both in the 
Established Church and among Dissenters ; when 
learned prelates, preaching to almost empty seats, were 
producing but little impression on fashionable audi- 
ences, and with difficulty keeping their communicants 
within the bounds of decent morality, Wesley and 
Whitfield were preaching with the most astonishing 
effect, among the abandoned crowds in Moorfields, to 
the lawless, brutal and irreligious colliers of Kings- 
wood, and the scarcely less abandoned multitudes that 



214 WHAT HATH GOD WKOUGHT. 

gathered about them on Kensington Common and 
Blackheath;" and later these preachers produced the 
same awakening all over this country, from Philadel- 
phia to Charleston, and finally in New England. Out 
of all this came, at last, what we call Methodism. 
No one can question the spiritual power of this great 
movement, and it came in the fullness of time. That 
such earnest preaching and exhortation developed a 
religious body, distinguished for numbers, and zeal 
and missionary enthusiasm, has become well-known 
history. That it was a power to quicken life and 
zeal in all other religious bodies, is equally evident. 
It was in this new spiritual atmosphere that Robert 
Raikes started the Sunday School, which has grown to 
such magnificent proportions. In this atmosphere was 
organized the Bible Society, which has scattered the 
word of God in all the nations ; and the Missionary 
Society, which has sought, with ever increasing suc- 
cess, to preach the gospel to every creature. The 
Wesleyan movement emphasized the fact that success 
depends largely upon Christian character. Christian 
enthusiasm, and thorough organization. 

Another ceAtury and we come to the fourth mile- 
stone; — the Campbellian Reformation. This was a 
protest against Sectarianism; — against those divisions 
in the church which Paul denounced as carnal; — and 
necessarily against human traditions, and human 
creeds, the fruitful source of all these divisions. 
Campbell and his co-laborers could see no great 
difierence between the Roman Catholic doctrine, that 
the church, through her priesthood, is the only 



WHAT HATH GOD AVROUGHT. 215 

interpreter of Scripture, and the prevailing Protestant 
position, — that the church, through her synods and 
councils, must interpret the Scriptures, by prescribed 
formulas of faith. They saw also that it was the 
preaching of speculative theologies that made and 
maintained these divisions. It was clear to them, that 
if each of the twelve apostles had preached a theology 
peculiar to himself, and had sought to win converts to 
it, instead of preaching Christ, and seeking to win 
people to Christ, they would have made twelve sects, 
instead of one church. They found that the church of 
Christ had this one article of faith: that "Jesus is the 
Christ the Son of the living God;" and that Jesus said 
"On this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it;" — and that Paul 
said, "Other foundation can no man lay." It was 
evident to these good men that, if all Christians would 
accept this one article of faith, and allow to each other 
the largest liberty of opinion about matters not vital, 
the union for which Jesus prayed could be realized. 
They emphasized the fact that the vital faith is a 
personal trust in a personal Redeemer. 

The Campbells plead for union because sectar- 
ianism is sin, because loyalty to Christ demands it, 
and because the prayer of Jesus, before his crucifixion, 
indicates that the world's conversion depends upon it. 
When the Church of Christ was a vital, visible unit, 
with one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and one 
hope, she was strong, and victory perched upon her 
banners. When the church began to substitute philo- 
osophical creeds for the personal Christ, and began to 



216 WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 

bind the conscience to the dogmas of speculative 
theology, the disciples lost that union with Christ 
which IS vital to fruit bearing. The Church of Christ, 
of apostolic days, was united by love. The Church of 
Rome was united by force. It was hardly practicable 
for Luther to escape the formulation of a doctrine 
that would stand over against the doctrine of Rome. 
He must let Rome know what he and his following 
stood for. And when the Bible began to be studied, 
as it had not been studied for a thousand years, it was 
not easy to avoid the contentions which arose over 
this and that doctrine, and hence sects began to 
multiply. The steps of reformation were not long 
ones. One prepared for the next. Luther said the 
army of the Lord must have the sword of the Spirit, 
which is the Word of God. The Puritan said the 
sword of the Spirit does not need, and must not have 
the help of the sword of Caesar. Wesley said the 
sword of the Spirit must be used by soldiers who are 
full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Campbell said the 
army of the Lord must use this sword as one man. 
Luther said the Church must not control the State. 
The Puritan said the State must not control the 
Church. Wesley said the Church must not be con- 
trolled by the flesh. Campbell said the Church must 
not be controlled by men^ however good, but by the 
one head, Jesus Christ our Lord. Each emphasized 
God-given truth. 

That the reformation begun by the Campbells 
has had a mighty influence for good, goes in this 
audience, without the saying. This Jubilee Con- 



WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 217 

vention represents a million disciples, the fruitage of 
this simple plea for Christian union, by a return to 
the Church of the Apostles. Its indirect influence 
has been great. Early in this century there was not 
a religious body of which any one could become a 
member simply upon a profession of faith in Jesus, as 
the Christ, the Son of God. Nearly all the doors open 
to such a seeker now. Early in this century there 
were no Union Sunday Schools; nor were the schools 
studying simply the Bible as now; there were no 
Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associa- 
tions, and no inter-denominational Christian Endeavor 
Societies. In fact there was no touching elbows, nor 
joining of hands, along any common lines of Chris- 
tian work. There was no Evangelical Alliance ; and 
such a thing as a Congress of Churches would have 
been impracticable. Since then the fetters of dogmatic 
theology have been broken, and the pulpits are ring- 
ing with truths that help toward true manhood, and 
the glory of God ; and everywhere there is heard the 
earnest prayer for the salvation of the world. No 
one is caring who casts out demons so only they 
are cast out; and everywhere, it is now conceded that 
what the world, and especially the heathen world, 
needs, is not dogmas, hut Christ — Christ to touch and 
heal the leprous soul, Christ to touch the blind eyes, 
and deaf ears, and palsied tongues, and feverish hands, 
that men may see and hear and serve and praise 
God. This touch is uniting Christendom. 

It is a noteworthy fact that all these reforma- 
tions had their birth among German and Anglo-Saxon 



218 WHAT HATH GOD WKOUGHT. 

people. These seem to be the fittest people for God's 
great purposes. You will search in vain for reforma- 
tions springing up among other races, white, or black 
or brown. God has watched over Europe with jealous 
care. There was a time when the Moslem power 
reached from Japan to the walls of Vienna, and spread 
from North Africa to Spain. Will the Crescent or 
the Cross rule Europe ? Charles Martel was the 
"hammer" of God to drive the Moors out of Spain, 
in the eighth century. God used Mohammed to 
check the power and progress of idolatry, and to 
scourge an apostate church. He was no greater 
impostor than was the Man of Sin. God made 
Mohammedanism the depository of learning, and a 
better civilization, during the dark ages, and used this 
learning to revive civilization and enterprise in 
Europe, and to make it possible for Christianity, as 
found in Protestantism, to give learning, and along 
with this learning, to give Christian civilization to the 
world. God has watched over England with special 
care. All the power of Rome has been employed to 
bring England under the dominion of the Pope, but in 
vain. God is working out the spiritual regeneration 
of the world through the Anglo-Saxon race. England 
and America give laws to the world. Where will you 
fix the limits of Anglo-Saxon power ? Five hundred 
years ago the Anglo-Saxon was one of the weakest of 
European peoples. To-day they rule nearly one- 
third of the world's territory, and one-third of 
the world's people. It is estimated that a hun- 
dred years from now, the Anglo-Saxon will control 



WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 219 

a population equal to the world's population of to-day. 
Why has North America, and Australia, and India, 
and many of the isles of the sea been placed under 
the control of the Anglo-Saxon race? What is the 
meaninor of the wars and diplomacies which have uni- 
formly given the Anglo-Saxon a mighty, if not a con- 
trolling, influence in every continent? Whatever may 
be said of English greed, or of the justness of many of 
her conquests, Christian missions never suflfer under 
her flag. Wherever the British flag waves, the mes- 
senger of divine peace and pardon may pursue his 
work unmolested. This is as true of the American 
flag. Wherever Anglo-Saxon power controls, one may 
traverse the whole land without fear; erect school 
houses, build churches, translate the Bible, prepare 
books, and use all lawful means to bring the knowl- 
edge of salvation to men. Already the missionary 
and the Bible have followed our flag into Cuba, Porto 
Rico, and the Philippines, where Rome has kept them 
out for centuries. England rules the wave — naval 
and commercial. The English language, and its treas- 
ures of religious knowledge, is belting the earth. It 
has been characterized as "the language of the arts 
and sciences, of trade and commerce, of civilization 
and religious liberty." Add to this fact that other 
fact, that the two nations speaking this language, hold 
in their hands nearly all the maritime commerce and 
naval power of the world, and sit as "arbiters among 
the nations." 

England was compelled to be a manufactur- 
ing nation. Her manufactured products must find 



220 WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 

a market. Her ships must traverse the sea. Her 
commerce must be protected. When steam became 
the new element of advancement, by which this age is 
distinguished from all that have preceded it, England 
had her coal deposits for making the steam to run her 
shops, and move her ships. It is a remarkable coinci- 
dence, that coal is not found in any considerable quan- 
tities, except where the Anglo-Saxon has control. 
Protestant coal makes the Protestant steam for the 
Protestant press. Steam shortens distances. Jesus 
Christ said, "Go into all the world," and Providence 
has shortened the distance, that we may go the 
quicker; and commerce and self-interest have made 
the whole world ready to welcome the messenger of 
peace. 

The Church is nearing the twentieth century, and 
has already passed another mile-stone, and is rising 
to the higher plane of service and joy. We have 
come to a New Era — the Era of Evangelism. It has 
been called the Era of applied Christianity. Chris- 
tians have been brought face to face with God, and 
face to face with men, as never before. God is shap- 
ing the afiairs of the world for the Church's final tri- 
umph. Already there is a commercial brotherhood. 
Education has lifted men from serfdom to citizenship, 
and kings are compelled to recognize human rights. 
Paganism is in its dotage; Romanism is making des- 
perate eflforts, in vain, to regain her lost power. The 
sick man of the East controls about all that is left of 
the once great Moslem power, and his dominions are 
waiting the opportune time to pass into other hands. 



WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 221 

The conference at The Hague, this year, largely 
through the influence of the American Legation, was 
made to consider how to speedily bring the time when 
"nations shall learn war no more." The whole civilized 
world has reached such a high degree of divine altru- 
ism, as to applaud a war to drive insufferable tyranny 
out of Cuba, and to feel the bitter shock of injustice 
done to one man — and that man a Jew. "An injury to 
one is an injury to all." The Golden Rule has been 
leavening the whole lump of humanity. The Church 
is the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the 
pillar and support of the truth. Again, she is a 
mighty structure founded on the Rock, against which 
the gates of hell — the powers of Pluto's dominions — 
can not prevail. But she is more. She is the army 
of the Lord, assaulting the gates of hell, and pulling 
down the strongholds of Satan. This is the mission- 
ary army. There are now in Christendom 242 For- 
eign Missionary Societies, which receive annually more 
than sixteen million dollars, and sustain 11,839 mis- 
sionaries, and 67,751 native helpers in nearly twenty 
thousand places in heathen lands, and more than two 
million redeemed heathens are walking in the light 
and love of the Truth. This is not a large army, but 
it is full of promise. America, the land of great 
experiments, great enterprises, and great successes, 
thoroughly aroused, could easily multiply this force 
by two. One great home missionary work is to unite 
the ten million members of the American Church, 
and fill them with diAdne enthusiasm. Our plea for 
the union of God's people has not yet fulfilled its mis- 



222 WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT. 

sion. The prayer of Jesus, "That they all may be 
one as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee; that they 
may be one in us," will be answered, and then will be 
realized the power of the re-united Church for the sal- 
vation of the world. "John saw another angel fly in 
the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to 
preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to 
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." 
Does not this prefigure the progress of modern missions? 
An angel, high in the air, moving swiftly on, his 
course unhindered by rivers, or mountains, or seas, or 
deserts, proclaiming in trumpet tones, peace on earth 
and good will to men. The ignorance of ages gives 
way, the fires of persecution are extinguished, swords 
are beaten into plow shares, and spears into pruning 
hooks, and nations learn war no more; and ere long 
the anthem shall break forth, rising to the heavens, 
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of 
mighty thunderings, resounding, "Hallelujah! Halle- 
lujah! the Lord God omnipotent reigneth; the king- 
doms of this world are become the kingdom of our 
Lord and his Christ, and He shall reign forever and 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 



** Philip began at the same scripture, and preached unto him 
Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain 
water, and the eunuch said, See here is water, what doth hinder 
me to be baptized? And Philip said. If thou believeth with all 
thine heart, thou mayst. And he answered and said, I believe 
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."— Acts viii : 35-37 See 
verses 26-40. 

[he Ethiopian officer was a Jew, either by birth or 
proselytism, more likely the former. Judea had 
been under the dominion of Rome for many years. 
The Jew has always been restless under a yoke. His 
instinct of freedom is strong. During the Roman 
dominion, for one cause and another, many Jews 
found homes in other countries, and their children 
were reared there. Luke tells of the representatives 
of fifteen different countries — Jews and proselytes — 
who were present on the day of Pentecost. This man, 
or his father before him, had settled in Ethiopia, the 
dominions of Queen Candace. If, as Josephus says, 
this was the country of the " Queen of Sheba," the 
Jew was a welcome visitor. Like Daniel, he was dis- 
tinguished for wisdom, and for devotion to the religion 
of his fathers. His religion was not of that chameleon 
type which takes on the color of its environment. All 
this man's material interests and political preferment 
depended, in some degree, upon his falling in with the 
religion of the royal court. Be that as it may, the 
queen recognized his honesty, intelligence and ability 



224: A MODEL CONVERSION. 

and made him Secretary of the Treasury — "a man of 
great authority." 

He was a zealous Jew. To make so long a jour- 
ney to Jerusalem was not an easy task. It required 
time, money and endurance. 

Moreover, he was acquainted with the Scriptures, 
and could read them in Greek or Hebrew. When 
preaching to Jews, the apostles always took it for 
granted that they were familiar with the Scriptures. 
The Scriptures were read systematically and consecu- 
tively in the synagogues on the Sahbath, so that a Jew 
had the opportunity to hear all the Scriptures read 
many times before reaching old age. The preacher 
found this man reading the Scriptures, and seeking to 
know the meaning. It is not hard to impart the truth 
to one who is seeking it. One of the great hindrances 
to the success of the gospel, even in this country of 
many preachers and many Sunday School teachers, is 
the prevailing ignorance of the Word of God. 

We may presume that the high chamberlain of 
Queen Candace was received, by the governor, in a 
manner befitting his station. He put up at the best 
hostelry of the city, and associated with the best people. 
Let me suppose that ten years had elapsed since he 
last came to Jerusalem to worship. During that time 
John the Baptist had appeared as the harbinger of the 
Lord, and had preached repentance with such power 
that thousands came to his baptism. Many supposed 
he was the Messiah, but he said, "I am not he, but one 
cometh after me, mightier than I, whose shoes I am 
not worthy to bear." Then the mightier one had 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 225 

come and baptized more than John, and commanded 
general attention by his miracles and by his teaching. 
This was Jesus of Nazareth. He had aroused the 
animosity of the chief priests, and won the admiration 
of the common people. He had been condemned by 
the Sanhedrim as a blasphemer, and by the Roman 
governor as a traitor, and had been crucified by Roman 
soldiers. A short time after, the city had been aston- 
ished by the news that the crucified one had come 
back from the grave; and a few days later his disci- 
ples had proclaimed his resurrection, ascension and 
coronation, and in a single day three thousand had 
given their allegiance to the new Kjng. Then had 
come the eflbrts of the priests to suppress this new 
religion, and the consequent persecution which resulted 
in Stephen's martyrdom, and the scattering of the dis- 
ciples abroad "throughout the regions of Judea and 
Samaria, except the apostles." 

There was but one absorbing question in Jerusa- 
lem now: "Was Jesus the promised Messiah, or shall 
we still look for another ? " Thousands had already 
accepted his reign, and thousands more had arrayed 
themselves against him. The discussions were hot, 
and the spirit of persecution very bitter. Of course 
this ardent Jew became interested. In common with 
other Jews, he was looking for the fulfillment of the 
promise made to Abraham two thousand years before. 

He may have talked with Nicodemus, a member 
of the Sanhedrim, who told him that there was no 
question about Jesus' w^orking miracles ; that he 
believed he was a teacher come from God ; and that 



16 



226 A MODEL CONVERSION. 

he regretted that he had not defended him more 
vigorously before the Council. He may have talked 
with Joseph, the Aramathean, another member of the 
Sanhedrim, who told him that, like Nicodemus, he was 
a secret believer in Jesus, and that he also regretted 
his lack of courage to defend him before the Council ; 
but that, after his death, he went boldly to Pilate and 
begged the body ; and that he and Nicodemus had 
embalmed it, and buried the sacred remains in his 
own tomb, and that his disciples were now saying that 
this was in fulfillment of Isaiah's words, " He made his 
grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death. " 
He told him of the pall of darkness that hung over 
the land for three long hours, and of the rent rocks 
and the rent veil, and how he himself had seen the 
place where Jesus had been laid, and that he believed 
that his apostles affirmed the truth, when they said he 
had risen from the dead. 

He may have talked with Lazarus, who told him 
how he had been the devoted friend of Jesus, how he 
had sickened, died, and had been buried, and how 
Jesus had brought him back to life — a miracle so 
convincing that it aroused the ire of the chief priests 
and the Pharisees, who took council and said, "What 
do we, for this man doeth many signs ? If we let him 
thus alone, all men will believe on him ; " and then 
took council to put Jesus to death ; and later, took 
council that they might put him to death also, because 
so many people came to see him and went away 
believers in Jesus. 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 227 

He may have talked with Caiaphas, the high 
priest, who told him that he prophesied "that Jesus 
should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, 
but that he might also gather together, into one, the chil- 
dren of God that are scattered abroad;" — and that 
John, one of the disciples whom he knew, was saying 
that God had put these words in his mouth ; and that 
he had unwittingly announced the vicarious atone- 
ment of Christ, which was foretold by Isaiah: "He 
hath borne our griefs, ^ * carried our sorrows, * "^ 
was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our 
iniquities. * ^ Thou shalt make his soul an offering 
for sin. * ^ He bore the sin of many;" and then 
he went on to say that this whole chapter was being 
quoted by the friends of Jesus as a prophetic vision 
of the Messiah, and that all the details of description 
find their fulfillment in the life, character, and specially 
the sufferings of Jesus of Nazareth ; and that the 
words "He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of 
the Lord shall prosper in his hands," mean the resur- 
rection and coronation of the Messiah. But he added 
that, to meet the force of this, they had tried to con- 
vince the people that Isaiah said aU this of himself ; 
but the more they argued, the more the people 
believed in Jesus, until it was necessary to use force 
and drive them out of the city. Just then some one 
may have come in to say that these scattered disciples 
were preaching Christ everywhere they went, and 
that Saul of Tarsus wanted authority to' bring the 
disciples in Damascus in chains to Jerusalem, to be 
punished. 



228 A MODEL CONVEKSION. 

He may have talked to Pilate, who told him how 
he was compelled, by the clamor of the Jews, to con- 
sent to the death of an innocent man ; and justified 
himself in it as a political necessity; and added that 
Jesus really made no defense, but "went like a lamb 
to the slaughter;" and that no one came forward to 
plead his cause; and that the centurion, who was 
present through all the hours of agony and darkness, 
and heard all that Jesus said, had declared him to be 
the Son of God. 

The Jew from Ethiopia must have been deeply 
impressed by all this, and must have been greatly 
disappointed that he could not settle this question 
before leaving Jerusalem. He could not reconcile all 
this history with his conception of the Messiah's 
character and reign. Jesus of Nazareth was not on 
David's throne, and conquering as David conquered, 
nor were the people rallying to his support. More- 
over, he must have been surprised that his followers 
were, at that very time, making an effort to win over 
the despised Samaritans. 

About this time Philip had closed a very successful 
meeting in Samaria. " The angel of the Lord said unto 
Philip." (There are those who think the appearance 
of an angel is necessary to a model conversion. Note 
the fact that the angel spake to the preacher.) " Arise 
and go toward the south, unto the way that goeth 
down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. " 
We find here a good illustration of Providence. The 
preacher is left free to regulate his own steps. 
There is no record that an angel told the nobleman 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 229 

when to order his chariot, and how fast to drive ; but 
when the preacher reached a certain point in the road, 
the chariot also was there. This was not an accident. 
God was in the steps of the preacher, in the steps of 
the horses, and in the movements of the driver, to 
bring the Word of God to a seeker after the Truth 
and tlie way of Salvation. Faith cometh by hearing, 
and hearing by the Word of God. "Then the Spirit 
said unto Philip." "Yes," says one, "I am glad you 
find the Spirit's work in the history of a model con- 
version ; for I do not believe the sinful nature of man 
can be changed without a miracle of grace." Please 
note that the Spirit spake to the preacher, and said, 
"Go near, and join thyself to this chariot." He found 
the man intently reading and studying the very 
passage of prophecy which, more than any other, is a 
vision of the life, character, sufferings and triumphs of 
the Messiah. The preacher interrupted the reading, 
and surprised the reader with the question, "Under- 
standest thou what thou readest ? " I can see his 
look of despair, when he replies, "How can I, except 
some man should guide me. Come up and sit with 
me, and unfold the meaning of this : 'He was led, as a 
sheep, to the slaughter, and like a lamb, dumb before 
his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. In his hu- 
miliation his judgment was taken away; and who shall 
declare his generation, for his life is taken fi-om the 
earth.' I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet 
this ? Of himself, or of some other man ? " 

Here were a text, a preacher, an audience and an 
opportunity. Philip began at the same scripture and 



230 A MODEL CONVERSION. 

preached unto him Jesus. What was the great ques- 
tion which was troubling the reader ? Evidently this : 
Is Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah of the prophets ? and 
to this question the preacher must have given atten- 
tion. He doubtless affirmed that Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of the living God, and proceeded to the 
proof. This very scripture was full of it. It could 
in no sense apply to Isaiah, for he was himself the 
seer of this vision. The prophet saw one who would 
astonish and startle the nations, and before whom kings 
would be dumb, — "for that which had not been told 
them, shall they hear; and that which they had not 
heard, shall they consider" — the report concerning 
whom would be discredited ; one growing up to man- 
hood, as a very tender plant, and as a root out of a 
dry ground ; in whom was no form nor comeliness, 
and no beauty that they should desire him, and there- 
fore despised and rejected of men. He saw a man of 
sorrows, and acquainted with grief, a friend of man, all 
his kindnesses unappreciated and his character 
unesteemed — "bearing our griefs, and carrying our 
sorrows," a friend of the sinners, wounded for their 
transgression s,bruised for their iniquities, and healed by 
his stripes ; and yet looked upon as smitten of God 
and afflicted. He saw one who did no violence, and in 
whose mouth there was no deceit, oppressed, insulted, 
reviled, and unjustly condemned, and yet not opening 
his mouth in defense of himself. He saw one, like a 
lamb, led to the altar of sacrifice, pouring out his soul 
unto death, and cut off out of the land of the livinsf. 
He saw an innocent man dying as a criminal, and with 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 231 

criminals, and yet making his grave with the rich. 
He saw that Jehovah was willing that all this suffering 
should be endured, and that his life should be made 
an offering for sin. And again he saw his days 
prolonged, and the pleasure of the Lord prospering in 
his hands. He saw him exalted to a place of dominion 
and power, and ever living to make intercession for 
transgressors. 

What a text was all this ! How impressively the 
preacher must have gone over the counterpart of it 
in the history of Jesus of Nazareth, and told him how 
Jesus was begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of 
Mary ; how the angel assured the mother that he 
should be called the "Son of the highest;" how he 
was born in a stable, and cradled in a manger, and 
how the angels sang "Glory to God in the highest;" 
how, through the tender years of childhood, he had to 
be protected from the murderous purpose of Herod; 
how, at his baptism, John called him the Lamb of God, 
and the Father owned him as his only begotten Son; 
how he came to his own people, and they received 
him not; how^ he healed all their sick, and cast out 
evil spirits, and went about all his days doing good; 
and yet was despised and rejected, because they saw 
no beauty in him ; how he came to the garden of 
Gethsemane — the garden of sorrows — and prayed that 
the bitter cup might pass, and God did not answer; 
how he was crowned with thorns, and robed in 
mockery; how he was reviled and reviled not again ; 
how he was brought to trial and made no defense, 
and no one came forward to speak a word in his 



232 A MODEL CONVERSION. 

behalf; how he was led as a sheep to the sacrifice, and 
poured out his soul unto death as an ofiering for sin, 
and was laid in the tomb of the rich Aramathean ; but 
arose from the dead — prolonged his days — and gave 
his friends infallible proofs of his identity ; how he 
had commanded his apostles to "Go into all the world 
and preach the gospel to every creature ; he that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that 
disbelieveth shall be condemned;" and how the angels 
came for him to escort him to a throne at the right 
hand of the Majesty on high — a priest upon his 
throne, ever living to make intercession for trans- 
gressors. He may then have gone on to show how 
God had sanctioned his reign by the miraculous signs 
of the next Pentecost, and was, even then, giving his 
sanction to the work of his apostles, by signs and 
miracles and wonders. 

He preached Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the 
living God : "The Christ" means the "Anohited." 
In Old Testament times prophets, priests and kings, 
were anointed. It was the symbol of divine appoint- 
ment. They were God's anointed. Jesus is the 
Anointed — the Prophet, the Priest, the King. To 
preach Jesus is to preach his gospel, and to exalt him 
as Prophet, Priest and King. To preach Moses is to 
preach Moses' law. (Acts xv : 18.) To preach Jesus 
is to preach the " law of the spirit of life in Christ 
Jesus." Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and therefore 
the infallible Teacher, the infallible Priest, the 
infallible King — able and willing to save unto the 
uttermost. Philip preached Jesus Christ as King, 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 233 

with " all authority in heaven and on earth, " and 
therefore must have given to this seeker the King's 
commandment, as Peter gave it on the day of Pentecost. 

Coming to a certain water the earnest man said, 
" See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be 
baptized ? " Dr. Adam Clark comments on this as 
follows : " By this we may see that Philip had 
explained the whole of the Christian faith to him, and 
the way by which believers are brought into the 
church. " 

Now, whether the 37th verse be an interpolation 
or not, it is evident that the eunuch was baptized upon 
his faith in Jesus, as the Christ the Son of God. This 
was the great object of the preaching. Jesus said, 
" On this Rock I will build my church," and Paul said, 
" Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid 
which is Jesus Christ. " If I accept Jesus as the 
Christ, the Son of God, with all my heart, he becomes 
my Teacher, and I sit as a disciple at his feet ; my 
Priest, and I accept the atonement he makes for my 
sins ; my King, and I yield submissively to his scepter ; 
my God, and 1 worship and adore him while I serve 
him. There is in this all that is necessary to build up 
the character that God will approve. It is profound 
enough for the philosopher, and simple enough for the 
child. Moreover, departure from this " one foun- 
dation" has made all the divisions in the Church of 
God. 

There was no delay in this baptism. The preacher 
does not tell the candidate that he must wait to know 
the meaning of thirty-iiine articles of faith ; nor that 



234 A MODEL CONVERSION. 

he must go back to Jerusalem, and tell his experience 
to the church, and get the consent of the brethren ; 
nor that he must agonize in prayer until God, by His 
Spirit, shall have spoken peace to his soul; nor that he 
must wait until a more convenient season. He com- 
manded the chariot to stand still, and they both went 
down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and 
he baptized him. This was the King's commandment, 
and he obeyed the King. 

"He baptized him" — that is, Philip did just what 
the word means. If the word means sprinkle, he 
sprinkled him. If it means immerse, he immersed 
him. But it must be conceded that they did what 
was not necessary, if baptism means sprinkling, and 
what was necessary, if it means immersion. All 
scholars are agreed that the primary and literal mean- 
ing of haptizo is to dip, plunge, immerse. It is a rule 
of translation that a word must always be rendered 
by a word expressing its customary meaning, unless 
the sense forbids it. The violation of this rule will 
play havoc with the meaning of any translated writing. 
Dr. Conant published a volume in which are six 
hundred quotations from classic authors, in which this 
word is found, and in not one of the places does the 
translation of the word, by the word "immerse," do vio- 
lence to the sense, and in not a single place can 
"sprinkle" be used with propriety. Moreover, there 
is not a Greek-English Lexicono now used in any of 
our colleges as authority, that gives sprinkle and 
pour as meanings of "baptizo." I say this fearless of 
successful contradiction. Dr. Chas. Anthon, the 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 235 

author of all the classic text books in use when I 
attended college, says, "The primary meaning of the 
word is to dip or immerse, and its secondary meanings, 
if it ever have any^ all refer, in some way or other, to 
the same leading idea. Sprinkling and pouring are 
entirely out of the question." The Greek was a very 
fertile language. It had words uniformly used for 
sprinkle, pour, wash, stain, bathe, immerse, and even 
for washing hands and feet. A law maker always 
tries to make his meaning clear. Certainly the 
Divine law maker is able to use a word expressive of 
his meaning. He would not command obedience in 
ambiguous terms. His positive law is always explicit. 
If baptize may mean any one of a half-dozen diflerent 
things, Ave can not know when we have obeyed Him. 
Now there is no word so explicit as this Greek 
word. If a lawyer were to attach unusual 
meanings to words used in the law^s of the 
state, the court would rebuke him; and if he per- 
sisted in -it, he would lay the ground for pro- 
ceedings in disbarment. But preachers may juggle 
wdth "baptizo," in the face of its explicit meaning, as 
admitted by all scholars, in the face of all the figurative 
allusions to it, such as "Buried with him in baptism;" 
"Planted in the likeness of His death;" "Born of 
water" — language that can have no allusion whatever 
to sprinkling; and in the face of New Testament facts, 
such as baptizing in the river Jordan, and "in Enon, 
because there was much water there;" and in the face 
of history for more than fifteen hundred years, and 
yet seem to maintain self-respect, and the respect of 



236 A MODEL CONVERSION. 

intelligent people ! Jesus was baptized in the river 
Jordan. Paul took the jailor out of his house to bap- 
tize him. In this text, preacher and candidate both 
went down into the water, and both came up out of 
the water, after the baptism. When you see what the 
preacher calls a baptism, write a description of it, and 
see how it corresponds with this. 

Now suppose a penitent believer comes to me, 
and demands a baptism according to the Book. I 
F^Sr to it, and begin by taking up a few drops of 
water. He says, "the Book says 'they came to a 
certain water. ' " We go to a river, and I reach down 
to get a few drops of water. He says, " the Book 
says ' they both went down into the water. ' " We 
both go down into the water, and I again take up the 
few drops. He says, "the Book says 'buried with 
Christ in baptism.' " I say, " If I bury you, you will 
have to remain under water." "No, for the Book 
says buried with him in baptism, wherein ye are also 
risen with him. Baptism is a figure of a burial and a 
resurrection." I bury him with his Lord in baptism, 
in the likeness of his death, and I raise him in the 
likeness of his resurrection, and we both come up out 
of the water according to the Book, and he goes on 
his way rejoicing. And will anyone that knows any- 
thing about the New Testament, call this baptism in 
question ? 

Baptism is not only obedience to the command 
of the King, but it is also symbolic of our faith. It 
symbolizes our faith in the Christ who died for our 
sins, was buried in the dark tomb, and having con- 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 237 

quered the grave, rose again for our justification. It 
has a rich significance. It is also a symbol of the 
condition and purpose of the believer. Crucified 
with Christ, buried with Christ, risen with Christ. 
The old life is buried, and the new life begun. It was 
so expressive of one's going out of the old life into 
the new, that, early in the history of the Church, it was 
called " conversion," and even "regeneration," just 
as one speaks of the marriage ceremony as the 
marriage. It was the public expression of the fact 
that the candidate had become a new creature by faith 
in Jesus, and repentance unto life — that old things 
had passed away, and all things had become new — 
that he had died to sin and had risen with Christ — 
that his life was hid with Christ in God — and that, for 
this reason, he was to set his affections on, and seek 
the things which are above. What a pity that the 
Church council in 1311 gave its approval to substi- 
tuting something else for this divine symbolism ! 

Some one will ask, " What of the thousands of 
Christian people who have accepted this substitute for 
baptism ? " I may answer this question by asking 
another : What of all the thousands of Eoman 
Catholics who have not, and can not have, any intelli- 
gent faith in Jesus Christ ? I am glad I am not the 
judge. The Judge of all the earth will do right. 
The Scriptures teach that men will be judged according 
to what they know, and according to what they may 
have an opportunity to know. " To him that knoweth 
to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. " Were 
I to say to my little child, "Go bring me a book, " 



238 A MODEL CONVERSION. 

and he should return with a leaf, and give every 
evidence that he believed he was obeying me, I could 
not find it in my heart to rebuke him. But when I 
make him to understand what a book is, I certainly 
will expect him to take back the leaf, and bring me 
a book. You may make your own application. 

"He went on his way rejoicing." Every New 
Testament conversion began with attention to the 
Word of God, and ended with rejoicing. The Ethio- 
pian found Him of whom Moses and the prophets did 
write. He believed on Him with all his heart, and 
bowed in humble submission to His authority. He 
was full of thanksgiving, because the Father "had 
made him meet to be partaker of the inheritance of 
the saints in light, and had delivered him from the 
power of darkness, and translated him into the king- 
dom of God's dear Son." The great purpose of this 
kingdom is to make men happy by bringing the soul 
into harmony with God. It offers what no other king- 
dom can offer — the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the 
Holy Spirit, the hope of eternal life, the peace which 
the world can neither give nor take away. It has 
happiness for the poor in spirit, for them that mourn, 
for the meek and merciful, for the poor in heart, 
for the peacemakers, and even for those who are 
persecuted for righteousness' sake. The subjects of 
his kingdom can "rejoice always." Paul and Silas, 
in the inner prison, their feet fast in the stocks, and 
their bodies suffering from cruel scourgings, lifted up 
notes of joyful praise that penetrated all the prison 
walls, at the midnight hour ! The Christian may find 



A MODEL CONVERSION. 239 

more true joy iu a dungeon, than a monarch on his 
throne. He has the secret spring of happiness within 
himself, and external circumstances can not destroy 
his peace and'joy. He has a good conscience. He is 
at peace with himself and with his God. "His relig- 
ion fits for all scenes, supports in all trials, upholds by 
day and by night, and puts into his lips the songs of 
praise and thanksgiving." He lives and walks on a 
high plane. The atmosphere is clear and the vision 
bright. 

The world's pleasures sink out of sight in com- 
parison with this joy. Burns sang — and no one 
understood it better — 

"Pleasures are like poppies spread, 
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed ; 
Or like the snow falls in the river ; 
A moment white then melts forever ; 
Or like the borealis race, 
That flits ere you can mark their place ; 
Or like the rainbow's lovely form, 
Evanishing amid the storm." 

But the Christian sings, 

* ' 'Tis religion that can give 
Sweetest pleasures while we live; 
'Tis religion must supply 
Solid comfort when we die ; 
After death its joys will be 
Lasting as eternity ; 
Be the living God my friend. 
Then my bliss shall never end." 

Take away his treasures; he still has riches in Christ 
Jesus. Take away his. home; there yet remains a 
rest for the people of God. Take away his friends; 



240 A MODEL CONVERSION. 

he yet has friends in God, and Christ, and the angels 
who will receive him into everlasting habitations. 
Take away his life; he yet has the life that is hid with 
Christ in God. Take away his hope In all earthly 
things ; he yet has the hope, both sure and steadfast, 
that anchors the soul to that within the veil. 



SAUL OF TARSUS. 



Acts ix : 1-22 : xxii:i-i6: xxvi. 



B 



AUL of Tarsus — afterward called Paul, the great 
Apostle of the Gentiles,was "of the stock of Israel, 
of the tribe of Benjamin, — a Hebrew of the Hebrews, 
— as touching the law a Pharisee," and as "touching 
the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." 
His father was a strict Jew, and also a Pharisee. 
"The Pharisees were, in general, a powerful religious 
party — the predominant influence in the Jewish State. 
They aspired to the control of the civil and religious 
institutions ; and were the recognized teachers and 
guides of the national mind. They were proud of 
their orthodoxy, pluming themselves on their superior 
sanctity, practicing austerities outwardly, but inwardly 
indulging their passions, and descending to unworthy 
and shameful acts ; and withal of narrow spirit, con- 
tracted views, seeking rather their own aggrandize- 
ment than the public good, of which they used the 
name merely as a pretext and a cover." [Beard.} 
They interpreted the law by the traditions, and Jesus 
said they "made the word of God of none eflect by 
tradition." They had a "form of Godliness without 
the power." Jesus denounced them as hypocrites. 
However, there were some in this party, such as 
Nicodemus and Gamaliel, who were quite free from its 



17 



242 SAUL OF TARSUS. 

prevailing vices, many of whom accepted Christ. 
Certainly Paul was honest. He said to the Jewish 
Council, "I have lived in all good conscience before 
God until this day;" and to Agrippa, "I verily 
thought I ought to do many things contrary to the 
name of Jesus of Nazareth." He had the courage of 
his convictions, and "persecuted this way unto the 
death, binding and delivering into prisons, both men 
and women." 

He was a free born Koman citizen. Raised in 
Tarsus, the chief city of Cilicia, and enjoying the 
privileges of citizenship in the Roman Empire, he was 
fitted, by early training, and by association with the 
Gentiles, to serve the more acceptably in the field to 
which Christ afterward called him. 

He received his higher education in Jerusalem, 
in the school of the great Gamaliel; and this indicates 
that his father was a man of some wealth. 

I am to speak of the conversion of a member of 
the Jewish Church; — a member of the most orthodox 
sect of the Jews; — a man of learning acquired in the 
best schools of his day; — an honest man, having, at 
all times, the courage of his convictions; — a man ex- 
ceedingly zealous in the religion of the fathers, and a 
man standing high in the esteem of the best people. 
It has been said that an honest man is the noblest 
work of God. There are those who think that it mat- 
ters little what a man's religion is, so long as he is 
conscientious. But Paul was a sinner, notwithstand- 
ing his sincerity and zeal; for he says, "Jesus Christ 
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am 



SAUL OF TARSUS. 243 

chief." There are sins of omission as well as sins of 
commission. Paul might have known all that he 
afterward learned, but he did not avail himself of the 
opportunity. He may have passed, many a day, 
within a stone's throw of the Great Teacher, without 
taking the time to hear him. He must have heard, 
over and over again, of the miracles which had con- 
vinced Nicodemus that he was a "Teacher come from 
God," and made no investigation of their merits. 
The power of his sect was all directed against Jesus, 
and his work. The elements of power, supplied by 
religion, politics, and high life, were combined, most 
thoroughly, to oppose and destroy the doctrine and 
the lofty aims of the Galilean. Wilful ignorance 
alienates the soul from God. (Eph. iv:18.) Paul 
needed conversion. 

His first appearance in the New Testament his- 
tory, was at the stoning of the first martyr. He con- 
sented to Stephen's death. Later he "breathed out 
threatenings and slaughter against the disciples" in 
Jerusalem; and "being exceedingly mad against them, 
he persecuted them even unto strange cities." In all 
this he was sustained by letters of authority from the 
chief priests and the elders. Hear his own story: 
"As I went to Damascus, with authority and commis- 
sion from the chief priests, at mid-day, O king, I saw 
on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness 
of the sun, shining round about me and them which 
journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to 
the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and say- 
ing, in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecut- 



244 SAUL OF TARSUS. 

est thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the 
pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he 
said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise, 
and stand upon thy feet; for to this end have I ap- 
peared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a 
witness, both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, 
and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee; 
delivering thee from the people and from the Gen- 
tiles, unto whom I send thee, to open their eyes, that 
they may turn from darkness to light, and from the 
power of Satan unto God, that they may receive re- 
mission of sins, and an inheritance among them that 
are sanctified by faith in me. Wherefore, O, King 
Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly 
vision." (Acts xxvi: 12-20.) 

Why did Jesus Christ appear unto Saul? To 
convert him ? The appearance of Jesus Christ was 
not necessary to the conversion of the thousands who 
had turned to the Lord before this. Why should it 
be necessary in the case of Saul ? Jesus Christ says 
he appeared unto him ^'to appoint him a minister" — 
an apostle specially to the Gentiles — "and a witness." 
It is common to use this word "witness" in the sense 
of conscious enjoyment of religion, as when it is said, 
so many "witnessed for Christ." This is not the 
meaning of the word here. I may be a witness that 
the coat I wear is comfortable, but not a witness as to 
who made it. Paul was to be a witness, like the other 
apostles, of what he had seen and heard. In another 
place Paul says, "And one Ananias, a devout man 
according to the law, having a good report of all the 



SAUL OF TARSUS. 245 

Jews which dwelt there, came unto me, and stood, 
and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. 
And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he 
said. The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that 
thou shouldst know His will, and see that Just One, 
and shouldst hear the voice of His mouth; for thou 
shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast 
seen and heard." (Acts xxii: 12-15.) He could not be 
a witness of the facts of the gospel unless he had seen 
Jesus and heard his voice. To the Church at Corinth, 
he wrote, "Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have 
I not seen the Lord?" "He was seen of James, then 
of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me 
also, as of one born out of due time; for I am the 
least of the apostles, that am not worthy to be called 
an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God." 
Jesus personally called all the other apostles, and 
trained them for their work. Paul, the apostle of the 
Gentiles, must not be an exception. 

The choice was a wise one. The twelve apostles 
were from the common walks of life. They were not 
educated men, nor were they men of wide influence 
among the Jews. Saul was educated, and moved in 
the highest circles, and exerted a wide influence 
among the ruling classes. Moreover, he was an 
honest man, having always and everywhere the cour- 
age of his convictions, and full of determination. 
Such a heart, and hand, and will, may always become 
a power for good, when consecrated to God and the 
right. His testimony for Christ has ever been an im- 
pregnable bulwark of defense for the Faith. The 



246 SAUL or tarsus. 

people knew that he was able to weigh evidence, and 
draw logical conclusions ; that he was strictly honest ; 
and that his prejudices against Christ were strong, and 
his enmity bitter. All his temporal interests lay on 
the side against Christ. When they learned that he 
had turned to the Lord, and was preaching the faith 
he had tried to destroy, and this without honor or re- 
ward, so far as this world is concerned, they could 
account for it only in two ways; either he had received 
what was, to him, infallible proof that Jesus of Naza- 
reth was the Messiah, or else he had gone mad. 
Festus listened to his fervent eloquence, when he was 
pleading before the king, and said, with an excited 
voice, "Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning 
doth make thee mad." To which Paul replied, ''I am 
not mad^ but speak forth the words of truth and 
soberness." And those who read Kis epistles, find 
everywhere the words of truth and of a sound mind. 
Then the conversion of Saul lifted a rod that was 
falling heavily upon the disciples, and filling them 
with dismay. Jesus is the Head of the Church. 
The head is the seat of sensation, and feels the suflbr- 
ing of the members of the body, and immediately 
seeks a remedy. So Jesus feels the hurt of His 
people. You cannot injure the least of his disci- 
ples without injuring Jesus. You cannot mock one 
of those little ones without mocking Christ. "Saul, 
Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" Little did he think 
he was persecuting any one on high. When Saul 
turned to the Lord, the leader of all the bitter oppos- 
ition had become the friend of the disciples, and their 



SAUL OF TARSUS. 247 

able defender everywhere. "Then had the churches 
rest throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, 
and were edified ; and walking in the fear of the Lord 
and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multi- 
pUed." 

The language of the modern revival meeting not 
only perverts the scriptural use of the word "witness," 
but also makes an unwarranted use of the "light" and 
the "voice," as found in Saul's experience. Many a 
convert refers to the time when he saw a light or 
heard a voice, as the particular time when the Lord 
"spake peace to his soul." I remember a man who 
claimed that, while he was praying, he saw Jesus as 
plainly as Paul saw Him. When asked whether he 
prayed with his eyes open or closed, he was convinced 
that he must have been dreaming. Bear in mind that 
the appearance of such a light was not necessary to 
the first conversions. There was no light except the 
light of the gospel, and no voice except the voice of 
the inspired preacher. The light that shone round 
about Saul, shone also round about those who jour- 
neyed with him. It outshone the sun at mid-day. 
The voice that Saul heard was also heard by his com- 
panions, though understood only by Saul ; and this 
voice sent him somewhere else to learn the way of 
salvation. In these modern revivals we hear of no 
lights which outshine the sun — none that others see 
as well as the convert — and no voice that others hear, 
and none that sends the sinner to the gospel to learn 
the way of salvation. Clearly, this light was a miracle 
attesting the fact that Jesus was present and speaking 



248 SAUL OF TARSUS. 

to Saul, and, if so, he was the risen Lord. Familiar 
with the scriptures, Saul knew how God appeared to 
Moses at the burning bush ; how Israel was guided in 
the wilderness by the cloud, that thinly veiled the 
glory of the Lord ; how the Lord descended on Mt. 
Sinai in fire ; how the face of Moses shone with a 
divine eflfulgence when he came from the glory of 
Jehovah's presence ; and how the glory of the Lord 
filled the tabernacle and the temple. Perhaps the 
words of Stephen's great sermon came back, to him 



and he may have caught a vision of his beftut«ul face, 
when, looking steadfastly into Heaven, he saw the 
glory of God, and said, ''Behold, I see the heavens 
opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right 
hand of God." 

Saul was convinced that Jesus of Nazareth, whose 
disciples he was pursuing and persecuting, was the 
Christ, the Son of the living God, and his Lord and 
Savior, and said, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to 
do?" Jesus answered, "Arise, and go into the city, 
and it will be told thee what thou must do." Mark 
the form of expression — ''must do." He would be 
told what was commanded by Him who had all author- 
ity in heaven and on earth. Jesus had committed 
this duty, first to his apostles and then to evangelists. 
After his resurrection, we have no record that this 
great question was answered by himself or by angels. 
The angel that appeared to Cornelius directed him to 
send for Peter, "who will tell thee words, whereby 
thou and all thy house shall be saved." 



SAUL OF TARSUS. 

Having accepted Jesus as his Lord, Saul immedi- 
ately obeyed. When he arose it was ascertained that 
the light had affected his eyes, as it had not the eyes 
of his companions. "He could not see for the glory 
of that light." When Jesus said, "I am Jesus whom 
thou persecutest," he must have gazed steadily for a 
while into the full blaze of the light that came from 
above, and have seen Jesus, as Peter, James and John 
saw him on the Mount of Transfiguration. This was the 
cause of his temporary blindness. His companions led 
him into the city, where, for three days, he was in 
darkness,and "neither did eat nor drink," and prayed 
most earnestly to know the way of salvation. 

How easy to deceive a man, agonizing in almost 
hopeless despair ! But God "showed Saul in a vision 
a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his 
hand on him, that he might receive his sight." This 
was a letter of introduction, so that Paul might recog- 
nize the man whom the Lord would send to tell him 
"all things appointed for him to do." Then the Lord 
appeared to Ananias, and commissioned him to bear to 
the anxious seeker the message of salvation. But 
Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard by many of 
this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints 
at Jerusalem, and how he hath authority from the 
chief priests to bind all that call on Thy name." 
Surely the church in Damascus would hardly have 
consented to the baptism of such a man. The Lord 
said, "Behold, he prayeth." "Go thy way ; for he is 
a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the 
Gentiles, and kings, and children of Israel ; for I will 



250 SAUL or TAKSUS. 

show him how great things he must suffer for my 
name's sake." "And Ananias went his way and 
entered into the house, and, putting his hands on him, 
said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, who appear- 
ed unto thee on the way as thou camest, hath sent 
me that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be iSUed 
with the Holy Spirit." Immediately he looked up 
and saw the very man the Lord had shown him in the 
vision. This miracle confirmed the fact that he was 
the Lord's messenger, and Saul was ready to hear and 
obey the gospel. 

The preacher did not ask him to narrate his ex- 
perience, with a view to know whether he was accept- 
ed of God ; nor did he tell him to continue in prayer 
until he received some token of God's grace ; nor did 
he ask him to wait until he was more fully instructed 
in the things of the kingdom. The Lord had sent 
him to tell this anxious inquirer what he "must do." 
He did not tell him to believe on the Lord 
Jesus, because he already believed on Him ; nor to 
repent, for already he had resolved to turn his back 
upon his old life. Listen to the answer to Saul's 
question. Lord, what shall I do ? "Now, why tarriest 
thou ? Arise and be baptised, and wash away thy 
sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Immediately 
he was obedient unto the heavenly vision ; and, hav- 
ing received the gift of the Holy Spirit, began, at 
once, the work to which the Lord had called him. 

We find in the conversion of Saul the usual steps. 
All that is extraordinary in this narrative pertains to 
his call to be an apostle. Jesus was himself the 



SAUL OF TARSUS. 251 

preacher. Upon His testimony, added doubtless to 
the testimony of Stephen, he came to believe in Jesus 
the Christ, the Son of God, with all his heart. Godly 
sorrow, on account of his sins, led him to turn his 
back upon the old, and to enter upon the new life. 
Relying upon all that Jesus Christ had done to open 
up the way of salvation, by his death, and calling 
upon His name — the only name by which men may 
be saved — he was, by His authority, baptized into the 
name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He became 
a covenanteB-^ of the new and better covenant, sancti- 
fied by the blood of Jesus, and the Father granted 
unto him redemption, through His blood, even the 
forgiveness of sins. His sins ^^j&^washed away, be- 
cause the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all 
sin. 

He himself tells us how he was baptized: "Know 
ye not that so many of us were baptized into Jesus 
Christ, were baptized into His death. Therefore, we 
are buried with Him by baptism into death ; that like 
as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of 
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of 
life." (Rom. iii: 3-4.) 

The after life determines the genuineness of every 
conversion. Paul consulted not with flesh and blood. 
He did not take counsel of those who had so highly 
honored him, and so fully trusted him. He paused 
not when Jesus showed him how great things he must 
suffer for His name's sake. To be right in the sight 
of God, was now an all controlling purpose. He was 
a magnificent illustration of the power of an all con- 



252 SAUL OF TARSUS. 

suming love. He said "the love of Christ constrain- 
eth us." "Who shall separate us from the love of 
Christ ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, 
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is 
written. For Thy sake we are killed all the day long ; 
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in 
all these things we are more than conquerors through 
Him that loved us ; for I am persuaded that neither 
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
powers, nor things present, nor things to come ; nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
able to separate us from the love of God w^hich is in 
Christ Jesus our Lord." 

He knew no sacrifice too dear to make for Jesus' 
sake ; nor was he boastful of his sacrifices or of his 
suflferings. When the church in Corinth seemed to 
make more account of false apostles than of himself, 
he was forced to commend himself ; "Seeing that many 
glory after the flesh, I will glory also . * * Are they 
Hebrews ? So am I . * * Are they the seed of Abra- 
ham ? So am I . * ^ Are they ministers of 
Christ ? I am more ; in labors more abundant, in 
stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in 
deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty 
stripes save one . Thrice was I beaten with rods, 
once was I stoned, thrice I sufi'ered shipwreck, a night 
and a day have I been in the deep. In journeyings 
often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils 
by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in 
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils 
in the sea, in perils among false brethren ; in weari- 



SAUL OF TARSUS. 253 

ness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger 
and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 
Besides these things that are without, that which 
Cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches"; 
and, in another place he says, "None of these things 
move me." Clothe, if you can, this mere skeleton of 
suffering ! How many pages of a modern daily paper 
would be covered by the details of even one of the 
events here enumerated ? What great head-lines ! 
Five times forty stripes save one ! A night and a day 
in the deep ! Hunger and thirst ! Cold and naked- 
ness ! Reporters would have found Paul too busy to 
be interviewed, and withal too little concerned about 
these light afflictions to go much into detail. The 
full details of his experience, in all the perils of a 
single verse, would have filled many columns. He 
called himself foolish for speaking of them at all. In 
another place in the same letter he says, "Our light 
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us 
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; 
while we look not at the things which are seen, but 
at the things which are not seen ; for the things 
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are 
not seen are eternal ; for we know that, if our earthly 
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens." 

True religion looks Godward, manward, selfward. 
Paul loved God with all his heart and mind and soul. 
"He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, 
he it is that loveth me : and he that loveth me shall be 



254 SAUL or taksus. 

loved of my Father, and I will love him and manifest 
myself to him." In his darkest hours Jesus stood by 
Paul and said, "Be of good cheer." "Be not afraid, 
but speak and hold not thy peace." Once he was 
caught away to the third heaven, and he heard un- 
speakable words. 

He was a true philanthropist. "I am debtor both to 
the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and 
to the unwise." "Necessity is laid upon me ; yea, 
woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel." "I could 
wish that myself were anathema from Christ for my 
brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh." 
How like Christ who took on himself the iniquity of 
us all ! How like Christ who drank the bitter cup of 
separation from his Father ? "Why hast thou for- 
saken me ?" Forsaken ! that guilty man might be 
redeemed. Paul was a servant of God and a servant 
of man. His was an unselfish love. He was self for- 
getful even "in afilictions, in necessities, in distresses, 
in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in 
watchings, in fastings." Trials hard enough to break 
the stoutest heart, and yet, amid them all, his words 
are notes of joy. "Rejoice in the Lord always, and 
again I say Rejoice." "Bless them which persecute 
you, bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do 
rejoice and weep with them that weep." "Rejoice in 
the hope of the glory of God." "And not only so, but 
we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribula- 
tion worketh patience, and patience experience, and 
experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, be- 
cause the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by 



SAUL or TARSUS. 255 

the Holy Spirit which is given unto us." Nor was he 
forgetful of personal religion. "I count all things 
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of 
all things, and do count them but refuse that 1 may 
win Christ and be found in Him, not having my own 
righteousness which is of the law, but that which is 
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which 
is of God by faith ; that I may know Him and the 
power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His 
sufferings, being made conformable unto His death ; if 
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of 
the dead. ^ ^ I press toward the mark for the prize 
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil, iii.) 
"I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not 
as one that beateth the air : but I keep under my 
body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any 
means, when I have preached to others, I myself 
should be a cast-away." (I Cor. ix: 26-27.) And this 
cost him a struggle : "I know that in me (that is in 
my flesh) dwelleth no good thing ; for to will is pre- 
sent with me, but how to perform that which is good I 
find not ; for the good that I would, I do not, but the 
evil which I would not, that I do." This is the experience 
of every disciple. Paul's inspiration qualified him to 
speak and write with authority ; but his struggles 
against the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and 
the pride of life, were the struggles common to men. 
How grandly he succeeded in all this the sequel 
shows. His last words illustrate the man, and tell of 
his triumphant hope. Nero had signed his death war- 



266 SAUL OF TARSUS. 

rant. Paul was in prison awaiting execution. He 
said to Timothy, his son in the gospel, "I suffer 
trouble as an evil doer, even unto bonds, but the 
word of God is not bound ; therefore I endure all 
things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain 
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal 
glory." "The things which thou hast heard of me, by 
many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful 
men who shall be able to teach others also." ''Study 
to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that 
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word 
of truth." "I charge thee, therefore, before God and 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick 
and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom, 
preach the word ; be instant in season, out of sea- 
son; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering 
and doctrine." How like his Savior, who, on the 
cross, prayed for the lost ; and, just before his 
entrance into glory, commissioned his apostles to 
carry the news of salvation to all the nations. There 
is but one feeble hint of personal need in this, his last 
writing. "Bring with thee the cloak that I left at 
Troas. Do thy diligence to come before winter." Is 
he in a cold, damp cell ? At his first trial no one stood 
with him — all men forsook him. Is there no one at 
Rome with courage t6 minister to his comfort ? Has 
he given up all for Christ ? Besides, he seems to cry 
for the fellowship of brave spirits, for the time of his 
departure is at hand. Only a departure. He had 
said to his brethren in Phillipi : "To live is Christ, to 
die is gain. * * I am in a strait betwixt two, having a 



SAUL OF TARSUS. 257 

desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 
Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for 
you." Now he realizes that his mission is ended. Death 
to him was but the gateway to life — the grave, the 
vestibule where he would put on robes of immortality. 
Reviewing his life, he said, "I have fought a good 
tight, I have finished my course, I have kept the 
faith"; and, looking forward in hope, he said, "Hence- 
forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness 
which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me 
at that day"; and, unselfish to the end, he added, 
"and not to me only, but unto all them also that love 
his appearing." 

Where Paul was last tried, and why he was con- 
demned, is not known. It was enough, so far as Nero 
was concerned, that he was a Christian. At length 
Nero set the day for his execution. He was led, by a 
small troop of soldiers, through the city gate, and out 
upon the road to Ostia, the port of Rome. Little did 
they know that they were marching in a procession 
more triumphal than any that had ever followed in 
the train of kings or conquerors. The prisoner of 
this procession was the battle scarred hero of the 
greatest battles of history; and now he was going to 
his crown. To the soldiers he was marching on to 
death. Paul knew that he was marching to eternal 
life in the city of God. 

It was midsummer, under an Italian sky. AW 
nature was in her best attire. The smiling flowers, the 
singing birds, the whispering zephyrs — all told of the 
goodness of their Maker. The busy throng of mer- 



18 



258 SAUL OF TARSUS. 

chants, traders, sailors, travelers, slaves, and peasants 
gave only passing notice to the executioner, the 
martyr, and a few weeping friends. Only another 
victim of Nero's cruelty ! Only another Christian 
who could not surrender hope in Christ ! The place 
of execution was not far distant. There Paul prayed 
fervently; not for himself, I trow, but for the churches 
which had been the care and burden of his heart for 
so many years. For himself, he thanked the Good 
Father that he was permitted to die for him who 
"gave his life a ransom for sin." Then, 

" Ivike one who draws the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams," 

he gave his neck to the headsman's sword. One 

stroke — the heart that loved as Christ loved, was 

pulseless; the hand that wrote Living Oracles, was still; 

the tongue that preached the gospel with mighty 

power, was silent; the feeble body that was the home 

of a mighty soul, was cold in death. The soul was 

"absent from the body and present with the Lord." 

And when the Lord shall come again to quicken 

the dead, and transform the living, Paul may strike 

the key-note of the grand anthem: "Thanks be to 

God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord 

Jesus Christ." And w^hen Jesus comes to put the 

crown upon his brow, he will say, "Not for me only, 

but for all those who have loved thine appearing." 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 



Preached at Elyria, O., August 13, 1899. 

(STENOGRAPHICALLY REPORTED). 



'* Elijah himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and 
•came and sat down under a juniper tree, and requested for himself 
that he might die. * * * 

" And he came thither unto a cave and lodged there ; and be- 
hold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said unto him, 
What doest thou here, Elijah? "—I Kings, xix: 1-9. 



nHE Old Testament history is full of human cliar- 
acter. Indeed, it may be called an encyclopedia 

-of human character; very much of it good, and held 
up in the New Testament as worthy of our imitation; 
very much of it bad, and finds its record here to illus- 
trate the deep depravity of sin, and the nature of 
Ood's dealings with it. Many of these ancient 
worthies were distinguished for some special virtue: 
Abraham for his faith, Moses for his meekness. Job 
for his patience, Daniel for his courage, David for his 
devotion. And yet not one of these was perfect in 
the thinor for which he was most distinoruished. It 
was for lack of that meekness for which Moses was 
"distinguished, that he lost admission into the land of 
Canaan. Abraham's faith was not always unwaver- 
ing, and we know what a fearful fall David had. In 
fact, there is but one perfect character in all this 
Book, — the character of our Lord and Savior, Jesus 
Christ; distinguished for no one virtue more than for 



260 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

another, and perfect in all, so that they who have 
followed him most intimately can say no more than 
Paul said, "Follow me, as I follow Christ." 

I think you will agree with me that Elijah was 
no exception to this rule. Distinguished as he was 
for courage,' here his courage has weakened. That 
we may understand this better, let us go back a little 
in this history. 

It is said of Ahab, that he was the wickedest of 
all the kings of Israel; that he did more to provoke 
the Lord God to anger than all the kings before him. 
Much of this might be chargeable to Jezebel, his 
heathen queen, who brought all her heathen corrup- 
tions into the royal court. It was in the presence of 
this wicked king and queen, that Elijah makes his first 
appearance in history. He stands unabashed in this 
royal presence, a messenger from God, and says, "As 
the Lord God liveth, before whom I stand, there 
shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according 
to my word." It was the announcement of the 
judgment of the Lord. There was no time for dis- 
cussion. There will be no time for discussion when 
the last great judgment comes. Elijah went out 
from the presence of the king. 

He was a man of faith. The Lord told him to 
go dwell by the brook Cherith. "I have commanded 
the ravens to feed thee there," and sure enough, the 
ravens supplied his needs. And when the brook went 
dry, the Lord said, "Go up to Zarephath: behold I 
have commanded a widow woman there to sustain 
thee." Not many would have cared to look to a 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 261 

-widow woman for support in an emergency like this; 
specially if they found her cooking her last meal, as 
Elijah did, when he got there. But sure enough, the 
barrel of meal and the cruse of oil gave not out dur- 
ing all those fearful years. 

After three years he appeared again, quite as 
suddenly as before, to find Ahab no better. He 
charged all these calamities to Elijah, the prophet of 
the Lord. I question very much whether chastise- 
ments like this make wicked people better. It may 
serve to burn the dross out of the silver of good 
people's lives; but Ahab was hardened against God, 
charging all these calamities to His prophets. Then 
Elijah made them this proposition: "You have four 
hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and four hundred 
prophets of the groves. 1 alone remain of the proph- 
ets of God. Gather Israel and the prophets of Baal 
to Carmel. Let them build an altar to Baal, and put 
on wood and sacrifice and no fire under; and I Avill 
build an altar to my God, and put on wood and sacri- 
fice and no fire under. Let them pray unto their 
gods, and I will pray unto Jehovah, and the god that 
answers by fire, let him be God." And all the people 
said, "It is well spoken." They assembled. The 
prophets of Baal builded their altar, and put on the 
wood and sacrifice, and began praying early in the 
morning, and on and on until noon, when Elijah 
mocked them: "Cry aloud. He is a god. Perhaps 
he is asleep and needs to be awakened. Perhaps he 
is talking or pursuing a journey, and needs to have 
his attention arrested. Cry aloud." And they cried 



262 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

aloud, and afflicted themselves with knives, and 
prayed and agonized until the time of the evening- 
sacrifice; but there was no answer from Baal. 

Then Elijah said to the people, "Come near unto- 
me." He was not afraid of scrutinizing eyes. I 
heard a man once say that the greatest difficulty 
Spiritists have to contend with is the gaze of human 
eyes — eyes that will look; therefore they do all the 
marvelous things with the lights turned down or turn- 
ed out. Elijah was not afraid of scrutinizing eyes. 
They saw him build the altar, and put on the wood 
and sacrifice. They saw him dig a trench about it. 
They saw twelve barrels of water poured upon the 
altar and the wood, and filling the trench round about. 
Then, with a prayer that was not loud nor long, but 
the prayer of faith, he prays: "Lord God of Abraham,. 
Isaac, and Israel, let it be known that thou art God 
in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have 
done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord,, 
that this people may know that thou art the Lord 
God, and that thou hast turned their heart back 
again." And, in answer to this brief prayer, the 
fire fell, and consumed the sacrifice, and the wood, 
and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water 
that was in the trench, and made such an impression 
that the people fell upon their faces, exclaiming,. 
"The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God !" 

Elijah was encouraged to believe that the people 
were turning back to the Covenant; and, backed 
by a public sentiment like this, he executed the law 
of Moses against these impostors, by taking off their 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 263 

heads; and then went on the mountain top to pray 
for rain. When he saw the rain coming, he girded 
himself, and danced with delight, in the lead of Ahab's 
chariot, all the way to the palace gate — the happiest 
day of his life, next to that wlien the chariots of God 
came to take him home. 

But unfortunately Jezebel had not been at that 
meeting; and when Ahab told her how Elija"h had put 
to death her pet prophets, she swore by all her gods 
that he should sufler the same fate by about the same 
time the next day. And then Elijah's courage oozed 
out. "What is the use ? The power behind the 
throne is yet unconquered. The people are enslaved 
to the king, and the king to a heathen queen. I 
might as well flee for my life." And he fled for his 
life and came and sat down under a juniper tree, and 
pra3^ed God that he might die. "Take away my life, 
O Lord, for I am not better than my fathers." 

An angel gave him food that strengthened him 
for that long journey to Horeb. Perhaps he thought 
he might get nearer to God here where Moses met 
God, and talked with Him face to face. He came to 
a cave, and lodged there, and the Lord came to him 
with a rebuking question: "What doest thou here, 
Elijah?" His answ^er shows how completely he was 
discouraged. "I have been very jealous of the Lord 
God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken 
thy covenant, thrown dow^n thine altars, and slain thy 
prophets mth the sword, and I, even I only, am left; 
and the}^ seek my life to take it away." The Lord 
said, "Go, stand out on the verge of the mountain." 



264 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

He proposed to teach him a few lessons by symbolism. 
Then there came a great and strong wind, that rent 
the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks, then an 
earthquake that shook the mountain to the very heart, 
and then an all-consuming fire. But the Lord was not 
in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire. 
And then came the still, small voice with which Elijah, 
as the prophet of God, was familiar; and he wrapped 
his face in his mantle, and went out and stood in the 
entrance of the cave, to hear the question repeated, 
"What doest thou here, Elijah?" and he answered as 
before. 

God has very little use for a discouraged man. 
He says to him, "Go back. I have a little more work 
that you may do. You may anoint Hazael to be king 
over Syria. I have some use for Hazael. You think 
Ahab is a very bad man, and so he is, but you may 
anoint Jehu to be king in his stead. I can use Jehu 
for my purposes. You think you alone remain of the 
prophets of God, but you will have a successor. You 
may anoint Elisha to be prophet in thy room." And, 
to encourage the man, as this seems to have been his 
last work, he said to him, "There are yet seven thou- 
sand in Israel who have not bowed the knee to Baal, 
and whose lips have not kissed him." A little while 
afterward the chariots of God came for him, to bear 
him away to his final rest. 

There are some practical lessons in this history. 

First — May it not be that Elijah emphasized too 
largely the power of miracle to reform people ? 
There are those to-dav who think the church has lost 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 266 

its power, because it is no longer a miracle-working 
church. And there are those who say it is not a 
miracle-working church, because it has lost the 
miracle-working faith; and that it will never have 
the one without the other. That puts the church in 
the predicament of the man who went down to the 
river, and his friend told him that he could not cross 
without the boat, and he could not get the boat unless 
he crossed over. 

It seems to me there is somewhere a mistake in 
this view of the mission of miracles. Elijah gives 
the best description of the purpose of a miracle in this 
prayer: "Lord God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of 
Jacob, let it be known this day that thou art God in 
Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have 
done all these things at thy word." There is no reve- 
lation without the accompanying miracle. Revelation 
and miracle must stand or fall together. And that 
is the reason why infidelity has always tried to get 
rid of miracles. Moses wrought miracles to convince 
the people of Egypt that he was God's messenger, and 
that his messao^e was God's messao^e. Christ wrought 
miracles in confirmation of the extraordinary claim 
that he was the Son of God, and then left the divine 
truth to make men free. The apostles wrought 
miracles in confirmation of the extraordinary claim 
that they were Christ's embassadors. They spake for 
Christ, God confirmed the word with miracles, but 
men were to hear the gospel, believe the gospel, and 
obey the gospel, in order to salvation. This is the 
place the miracle fills in the divine economy; and 



266 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

when it has accomplished its purpose, in the very 
nature of things, it ceases to be. Miracles have been 
wrought to convince the mind, but never directly to 
change the moral nature of men. 

Suppose a missionary should go down into the 
heart of Africa, and have power, like Elijah, to call 
fire down from heaven; and that all the people 
should fall on their knees, and recognize the God of 
the missionary as the true God. And suppose the 
missionary makes up his mind that these people are 
regenerated, and that he will return with a report of 
what God hath wrought, and ask for a commission to 
another field. What do you suppose the Missionary 
Board would say to him? They would say "Go back 
there, my friend. Your work is only begun. These 
people have learned one thing only, and that not fully, 
i. e. that your God is the true God. Go back with 
the Word of God, — 'profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that 
the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished 
into all good works.' These people are yet debased. 
They are just as licentious, and would steal the buttons 
ofi" your coat as quick as when you first visited them. 
Take this Word which is 'quick and powerful, and 
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the 
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints 
and marrow,' and give them line upon line, and 
precept upon precept, until they know and feel its 
regenerating and uplifting power and enter upon the 
work God wants them to do." Dream of miracles as 
you please; they have had their place; and, when the 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 267 

occasion arises, God may empower messengers to work 
miracles again, — but you will not get rid of the blessed 
privilege of making the offerings that will sustain the 
missionaries of the cross while they give the Word of 
Life to a perishing world. 

Second — May it not be that Elijah emphasized 
too much the power of violence to reform men? They 
had passed through a terrible ordeal three and a half 
years. God's hand had been heavy upon them, and 
Elijah had taken away from their leadership four 
hundred wicked prophets. Possibly he thought that 
the way was then clear for reform. How often have 
we felt that, if in some way we could destroy wicked 
leaders, or overthrow by violence, if need be, the bad 
businesses of the w^orld, and their bad promoters, the 
conversion of the world would be easier. Until Peter 
was fully converted, he seemed to think he could help 
his leader by using the sword; but Jesus said unto him, 
"Put up the sword. Those Avho use the sword perish 
by it." Jesus Christ taught the Church, by the parable 
of the tares, not to use violence in the overthrow of 
evil men. The world is to be conquered by love, and 
not by hate. The church that undertakes to overthrow 
the enemies of the cross by persecution, does that 
which destroys the religion of Christ. Not by the 
winds that break the great rocks, not by the earth- 
quake that shakes mountains to the centre, not by the 
all-consuming fire of war and persecution, but by the 
still small voice of God's love and God's truth must 
this world be made better. 

I think it was Detocqueville who was sent here 



268 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

from France many years ago to inquire and report as 
to the genius of American prosperity. If you will get 
an old report, you will find in substance words like 
these: "You sent me to America. I went. I visited 
their halls of legislation, and was delighted with the 
wisdom with which they enacted law. I visited their 
halls of judicature, and was pleased with the justice 
with which they enforced law. I went into their marts 
of trade, and was surprised at the magnitude of their 
enterprises. I went into the domestic circle, and was 
pleased with the joy that seemed everywhere to pre- 
vail. But I never learned the secret of American 
prosperity until I went into their churches, and there, 
where I saw the people, without respect of caste, or 
class, or condition in life, listening to the word of 
God; there, where I saw the children gathered under 
faithful teachers, teaching this word of God, the light 
to their feet and a lamp to their path, then said I, 
'This is the secret spring of American prosperity. 
This tells, more than anything else, why America is 
free, and why France is a slave.' " 

These words are worth pondering. A man or 
woman who teaches a Sunday-school class is a mightier 
factor for the world's civilization than the man who 
leads regiments of soldiers. The money you put into 
church-building is a mightier factor in the hand of God 
than the money you put into your court-houses, and 
your stately capitol buildings. That which this world 
is crying for is the Word of Life; the word of power; 
the word of love, that enlightens the mind, quickens 
the conscience, moves the will, and sets the soul on 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 269 

fire for God and for humanity. Nothing can take its 
place. God, by His providence, may use armies, and 
may over-rule the wrath of man to his own praise; He 
may use the wonderful enterprises of commerce, and 
the fruits of inventive genius, to pave the w^ay for the 
all-conquering King. But the Word of God is the 
sword of the Spirit; the Gospel of Christ is the power 
of God unto salvation. 

Third — Elijah is also an illustration of the dis- 
couraged man. I do not think any of us would have 
done better; but I think we ought to fortify ourselves 
against discouragement. There is a three-fold faith 
that will do this. We must believe in possibilities — 
that something can be done; we must believe in the 
power of God's truth; we must believe in God, who 
is over all. We sometimes say the Acts of the Apostles 
was written to illustrate the way into the Kingdom of 
God; that it is the apostolic commentary upon the 
Commission, which is very true. But the Acts of the 
Apostles illustrates another thing very faithfully : The 
power of God's Word to teach and develop possibilities 
in human life. Three thousand people reached in a 
day! Five thousand shortly afterwards! Triumphing 
in Samaria! Triumphing in Rome! Triumphing in 
Corinth! Coming on down three hundred years after 
this New Testament history, we find the Christian 
religion has supplanted the hoary religions of all the 
years past. This shows the power of the Gospel on 
the one side, and the possibilities wrapped up in human 
nature on the other. 

If you do not care to study the Acts of the Apostles 



270 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

from that standpoint, study the history of the Fiji 
Islands. Not much more than sixty years ago, the 
Fiji Islanders were barbarians, cannibals at that. The 
captain of the vessel that bore the missionaries was 
afraid to land. These men found their way into the 
hearts of these savages. They learned the language 
of the people. They put the story of the cross into 
that language, and into the minds and hearts of these 
barbarians. One after another of the missionaries 
came home, or died, and others took their places, and 
a little more than sixty years have rolled around, and 
they tell us that in these islands there is the largest 
percentage of church membership in the world; that 
there are more family altars than among a similar 
number of people even in America, and that they con- 
tribute more for the support of foreign missions than 
very many people who profess to be christianized in 
this country. Possibly missionaries will yet have to 
come to America from the Fiji Islands to teach us how 
to do a royal thing for God. And this in the lifetime 
of living men. 

Perhaps you do not care to study such history as 
this. Study then your own history. You do not need 
to go back so very far, as God counts time. Your 
great-great-grandfather (put about forty greats to it) 
was a heathen, — poor, miserable heathen. I know 
this is not very complimentary; but it is better than 
Darwin has it after all. Your ancestor was a heathen. 
Somebody brought him the Gospel, and made him 
better. Then his children were made better, and his 
grandchildren still better, and on and on down through 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 271 

fifteen hundred years, here we are to-day, supposed to 
be the highest type of civilization in the world; and 
not half civilized yet, if you take into consideration all 
that Jesus Christ wants us to be. But all that is grand 
and glorious and beautiful in us is the fruitage of 
Gospel ministries; and if for no other reason than from 
a sense of gratitude, we Americans ought to be, as I 
believe we are, the best missionary people in the world. 

The power of the Gospel and the possibilities 
wrapped up in the human heart are illustrated in this 
history. And then we need to believe in Christ, who 
says, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
the world," — the ever-present Christ, — to make "all 
things work together for good" for His people, and 
all things work together for good for His cause, and to 
hasten the time when the knowledge of the glory of 
God shall fill the whole earth as the waters cover the 
sea. Faith in man, and the possibilities wrapped up 
in man; faith in the Gospel to reach and develop these 
possibilities; faith in the all-controlling presence and 
power of God and Jesus Christ his Son — this is the 
faith that giveth courage and victory. 

Fourth. — Then I think Elijah represents a class of 
people who think the world, and specially the Church, 
is worse than it is. There were seven thousand who 
had not bowed the knee to Baal. Elijah said, "I alone 
remain of the prophets of Jehovah." I have some- 
times wondered where those seven thousand were. 
Possibly, where a good many members of the Church 
are to-day, when we take a missionary collection. 
They are not present, not showing their colors, not 



272 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

training with the army of the Lord. Elijah might not 
have fled to Horeb had these seven thousand rallied, 
as they ought to have done, to the standard of Jehovah. 

There are those who think the world is worse 
than it was when they were boys. They forget we 
live in the time of telegraphs, telephones and daily 
papers. I can remember when it took us from two 
to three weeks to know what transpired in neighbor- 
ing townships. I can remember hearing my father 
read a description of one of the battles of the Mexi- 
can war. We lived a hundred and twenty miles west 
of Chicago. ' 1 can see him now, in that summer time, 
reading that paper, and I can hear him say, "That 
came quick, didn't it ?" and it was four weeks ! Just 
think, my brother, to-day, of our calling tidings quick 
that came to us a month after the event ! Why, we 
can read news from Manilla, half around the world, 
in next daily paper. Sometimes, when we look at the 
date, we might almost make up our minds that we 
had found out the fact before it transpired, because 
electricity had beaten the sun around the w^orld. 
To-day these wires run everywhere, bearing the tid 
ings from all the wide world, and the printers are put- 
ting them up with the linotype, throwing the papers 
at our doors before we are quite awake in the morn- 
ing, and we are picking them up to read all the im- 
portant events of the day before. And because we 
know so much more of the bad that is in the w^orld 
than our grandfathers knew, they are apt to say the 
world is worse than it was when they were boys. 

Not so, my friends. Nor is the church worse 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 273 

than it was. The church statistics show a constant 
increase in the percentage of church membership. 
During the last century this percentage has more than 
doubled. Of the population of the earth, about two- 
thirds are under the rule of Christian nations, and 
two-thirds of these are Protestant. But some say the 
martyr-spirit has long ago passed away, and that the 
men and women who would seal their faith and devo- 
tion to Christ by their blood, are not living to-day. 
That is because we are not tested as they were 
tested. I have sometimes tried to imagine a Nero 
on the throne, with power to issue his v^lict 
that the Christian world must surrender faith 
in Christ, or surrender life. And I see — "Oh, 
yes," says one, "you see gray-haired fathers and 
mothers, and people who have been longing to cross 
over, making this the occasion for the final triumph," 
Yes, I see these, but I see also men and women in the 
prime of life, engaged in all the business enterprises 
of the world; I see the three or four million young 
men and young women of the Christian Endeavor So- 
cieties, who sing all the way from Boston to San Fran- 
cisco, and all the way back, a splendid object lesson, 
illustrating the power of Christ over young hearts; I 
see the thousands of little children in our Sunday 
Schools, — all singing with delight as they pass into 
the flames, and all with one voice saying, "You may 
take fi'om us every precious thing of earth, yea, life 
itself, but we mil not surrender our faith and hope in 
Jesus Christ." 

We are not called to die as Stephen died. We 



19 



274 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

are called to live every day for Christ; and may it 
not be that this is the more difficult task of the two ? 
To live soberly, righteously, and godly, every day, 
amid the temptations of this present world; to love 
our neighbors as ourselves; to be what Christ wants 
us to be, so that He can use us for His work and for 
His glory; to keep zeal aglow with enthusiasm — this 
may be a richer and grander service than martyrdom. 
All the signs indicate a growing enthusiasm for mis- 
sions. The annual offerings are increasing, the mis- 
sionaries multiplying, and the Truth is leavening the 
nations. God's hosts are marching on, and marching 
on to victory. 

Fifth — Then I think Elijah represents a class of 
people who get away from their post. "What dost 
thou here^ Elijah ?" He was not where he could serve 
his God best. It is common for God's servants 
to get away from the post at which they can serve 
him best. Rich men are constantly putting their 
money where they can't draw on it for God or human- 
ity. Farmers buy the next farm to them, and go in 
debt for it, though they do not need it, and raise this 
as an excuse for not giving for missions. Young peo- 
ple are being educated in our Sunday- schools, in our 
High-schools, and colleges, and have become qualified 
for the best service as teachers in our Sunday-schools, 
yet God must meet them, every once in a while, with 
the question, "What doest thou here .^" — because they 
shut themselves away from where God can use them. 

Sixth — This lesson of personal responsibility, too, 
is a valuable one. If Elijah's story was true, that 



UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 275 

he alone remained of the prophets of God, that was 
the best reason why he should not attempt to hide 
himself in the cave at Horeb. If you are the 
only man who does the praying and paying, 
that is the best reason why you should not get out of 
the church. God needs you right there. Once in a 
while, you find people discouraged, and ready to lay 
down their labors, because they have had so much to 
do. Do you remember, after the crucifixion and 
resurrection, how Christ met Peter mth a searching 
question, made more searching by repetition ? 
"Simon, lovest thou me V\ He answered, "Yea, Lord." 
"Lovest thou me more than these ?" "Yea, Lord." 
It takes about three times putting a question to touch 
the heart. "Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me ?" 
The tears started to his eyes, as he answered, "Lord, 
thou knowest all things, thou knowest that 1 love 
thee." I wish we could all say that. And Jesus an- 
swered, "Feed my lambs; feed my sheep. Verily, 
verily, say I unto thee, when thou wast young, thou 
girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; 
but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth 
thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee 
whither thou wouldest not," signifying his martyr- 
dom. 

But Jesus said,"FoUow me," — that is what you must 
do. And I have sometimes imagined a literal follow- 
ing, as Jesus walked away, and Peter went after, and 
looked over -his shoulder and saw John. And Peter 
said, "What shall this man do ?" What burdens will 
you lay on John? What ordeals will John pass ? How 



276 UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE. 

we measure ourselves by others, and how we sometimes 
excuse ourselves from bearing burdens, because some- 
body else may have lighter burdens to bear ! But 
Christ said, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what 
is that to thee ?" If he never has a burden like yours, 
if he never suffers for me like you will suffer for me; 
what is that to thee ? You must answer for yourself 
to God. "Follow thou me." 

And that is a precious lesson for us to-day. The 
Lord help us to realize our individual responsibility, 
and be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the 
work of the Lord, knowing that our labor shall not be 
in vain. The Lord help each one of us to stand firmly 
at the post of duty, and never place ourselves where 
He may rebuke us with the question, "What doest 
thou here ?" 

And has not God, over and over again, come to 
the sinner with the same question? You, my friend 
of the world, are not where you can serve yourself, 
your neighbor and your God. God is calling you to 
the only post where he can best use you. "He that 
is not with me is against me." The Lord help you to 
find the place where all your talents may be consecrated 
to that service which will uplift men, and glorify God. 



THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 



John, iv: 1-42. 



no be a Christian is to be like Christ; and the more 
like Christ, the more a Christian. If we are not 
more like Christ than when we began to serve him, we 
have not been living up to our privileges. 

The Gospels are an abundant record of this 
model life. We ought to study these carefully and 
prayerfully, and with a holy ambition to be more and 
more like Christ, as the years go by. 

I invite attention to practical lessons in this chap- 
ter from the life of Christ. 

1. Jesus did not allow the weakness of the flesh, 
nor the poverty of his earthly surroundings, to inter- 
fere with his work. 

He was hungry. His disciples had gone to the 
city to buy bread. He was thirsty. He asked this 
woman for a drink. He was weary. He sat upon 
the well to rest. The hot rays of a noon-day sun 
poured upon his head. He might have excused him- 
self, saying, "I am too weary, too thirsty, too hungry, 
to do a work now. Wait till I am rested." How 
often we excuse ourselves, when the flesh is weak! 
Nor is the spirit always willing. But Jesus puts into 
his life what Paul put into a very beautiful exhorta- 
tion, "Let us not be weary in well doing; for, in due 



278 THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

season, we shall reap, if we faint not." And to all 
human appearance, his interest in the woman's salva- 
tion, made him forgetful of thirst, and hunger, and 
weariness, for when his disciples came back, with a 
supply of food, he said, "I have meat to eat of which 
you know not," and they wondered how his wants had 
been supplied; and he said, "My meat is to do the 
will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work." 
So, also, when we set out in the line of Christian duty, 
we forget the things of the flesh, and find meat and 
drink in the will of God. "They that wait upon the 
Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up 
with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be 
weary; they shall walk and not faint." 

The night after the Crucifixion was the saddest 
night the disciples ever spent; for they had buried 
their dearest friend, and buried their hearts with him. 
They met to console each other, and make prepara- 
tion to visit the tomb, and finish the embalming. I 
have often wondered whether any one arose in that 
meeting to say to the devoted sisters, "Do you not 
know that you undertake an impracticable thing ? 
There is a great stone over the mouth of the sepul- 
cher, and you can not roll it away; and it is sealed 
with the governor's seal, which you dare not break 
with impunity; and it is under guard of vigilant sol- 
diers, who will not permit you to come nigh unto it. 
It is just like you to let your enthusiasm run away 
with your wit." I have often heard speeches like this 
in the church and missionary meetings. Some one 
rises to tell how many stones are in the way, how 



THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 279 

many human seals to break, how many truculent sol- 
diers to fight, how many insuperable barriers to over- 
come. But I presume no such speech was made. 
They w^aited for the coming dawn, and hastened away 
while it was yet dark, not thinking of stone, or sol- 
dier, or seal, or anything else, until they were almost 
there; and some one said, "Who will roll away the 
stone for us ?" and they "looked, and behold, the 
stone was rolled away." The angel had been there 
and rolled away the stone for them, and made their 
access to the sacred sepulcher easier than they could 
have dreamed. So now, when we set out to do a 
royal service for God, the angels go before us to roll 
away the stones for us, and there comes to us a faith 
that cuts down the mountains, and casts them into 
the sea. 

2. Jesus did not permit the prejudices of this 
woman to interfere wdth his mission. 

This woman was a Samaritan and Jesus was a 
Jew. Between the Samaritan and the Jew there were 
no dealings. It was an enmity of long standing. The 
Samaritan was at best only of mongrel blood. When 
the Jews returned from captivity, the Samaritans asked 
for the privilege of sharing in the building of the 
temple walls; and were refused. This refusal made 
them very indignant, and they wrote to the King of 
Persia to search the records and learn that this city 
was once a "rebellious city and hurtful to kings," and 
would be dangerous to the welfare of his kingdom if 
suffered to be rebuilt; and so they succeeded in having 
an injunction served. After a while the injunction 



280 THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

was lifted and the temple finished. Years afterward, 
when they assayed to rebuild the wall, these same 
enemies said, "Even that which they build, if a fox run 
up against it, he shall even break down these stone 
walls." Opposition to God's truth and God's people 
is never consistent, sometimes saying one thing and 
sometimes another; not caring how the statements may 
conflict, as these did. First they reported that they 
might become a mighty people, now they say they are 
weak and contemptible. But the walls went up, — the 
Jews fighting with one hand, and building with the 
other; and the Samaritans were compelled to be and 
remain a separate and distinct people. Finding in 
the Law, — for they had adopted the religion of the 
country, — that where God recorded His name, there 
would He come and bless them; and that that name 
must be on an altar, that altar in front of a temple, and 
that temple on a sacred mountain, they selected Mount 
Gerizim as the sacred mountain on which to build 
their temple. It was hard by Sychar. Doubtless the 
woman lifted her finger to it, when she said, "Our 
fathers worshiped on this mountain; and ye say that 
Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." 
This made a religious difierence. There was a race 
difference, and there had grown up a commercial differ- 
ence, and a social difference, — about as wide a gap as 
can be made between peoples. Jesus might have said, 
"What is the use of talking with this woman? She is 
a Samaritan, and I am a Jew, and she will receive no 
lessons from my lips." But here, again, Jesus puts 
into his life what he afterward put into the Commis- 



THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 281 

sion, when he said, ''Go preach the Gospel to every 
creature." His message was for man as man. His 
missionary spirit was a philanthropy. God so loved 
the world — the whole world — that he gave his only 
beofotten Son that whosoever — whosoever, black or 
white, bond or free, rich or poor, young or old, Jew 
or Gentile, — believeth in him, should not perish but 
have eternal life. If your missionary spirit has not 
the whosoever in it, it is not the missionary spirit of 
Christ. 

3. Nor did he allow the character of the woman 
to interfere with his mission. 

She was not the best woman in Sychar, if I inter- 
pret correctly one of the verses of this story. Jesus 
might have said, "I can do little in this town, beginning 
with such a nucleus. If I can get some of the better 
classes, some of the elite, the lawyers and doctors and 
rich merchants, to join with me, I may hope to accom- 
plish something; but what can I hope from such a 
beginning as this!" How we try to steady God's ark 
in this way ! How often I have started meetings, and 
after touching the heart of some poor outcast, who 
wants to come to Christ, some brother or sister comes 
to me and says, "We want a good meeting, but I hope 
that woman won't come first." Just as if Jesus had 
not come to save sinners. Just as if he had not cast 
seven devils oat of one woman. Just as if he never 
prayed for those who crowned him with thorns, and 
robed him in mockery, and nailed him to the tree. 
Just as if he had not forgotten his own agonies on the 
cross, and taught the dying thief the way of salvation. 



282 THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

and drew from him the prayer, "Remember me, Lord, 
when Thou comest into Thy kingdom," and answered 
his prayer with words of hope; "To-day shalt thou be 
with Me in Paradise." Yes, a thief — a thief that you 
and I would not walk with in the streets of this town! 
That is the spirit of Jesus, and it must be the spirit of 
his Church, if it ever succeeds in the work of the 
Lord. 

You may have read the Autobiography of John 
B. Gough. He was once a miserable drunkard; about 
as near to hell as one can get this side, for he said he 
loved no one, and no one loved him. Indeed, he 
meditated suicide. He suffered from delerium tremens. 
He was a harness maker, and the leather clippings 
curled under his feet like snakes. The awl driven in 
one side, came out on the other a snake's head, with 
glittering eyes and forked tongue. No one thought 
he could be reformed. One night, passing up the 
streets of Worcester, a gentleman overtook him, laid 
his hand on his shoulder, and said, "Is that you, Mr. 
Gough?" He was greatly surprised, for nobody called 
him "Mister" then ; and turning about he looked into the 
face of a comparative stranger, and saw an outstretched 
hand. He was surprised again, for few people were 
in the habif^of shaking his hand. The hand took hold 
with a gentle grip, and he was surprised again, for the 
few people who shook his hand, let go coldly and 
suddenly. Then the stranger began to picture the 
sunnier days of his life, and said, "Would you not like 
to live them all over again, Mr. Gough?" The tears 
started to his eyes, and he answered "Yes sir, yes sir, 



THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 283 

but I can't do it now, sir. These fetters are too strong, 
sir." But the hand held on, and the voice went on 
pleading, till the poor man was almost forced to 
promise to attend a temperance revival the next night, 
and sign the pledge. He went away from that inter- 
view and took another drink, so completely was he 
under the dominion of rum. But next morning he 
was quite sober, and said to himself, "I have been 
untrue to myself, to my wife and child, prematurely in 
the grave, to my good mother in far-away England, 
and to my God. For aught I know, no one cares for 
my soul now, except the man that plead with me last 
night. Shall I be untrue to him?" And so he kept 
sober that day, and went to the meeting; and with a 
hand that some of you may have seen hold a glass of 
water as steady as a pillar, when he delivered an 
eloquent apostrophe to it — that hand all trembling 
then — he signed the pledge, and stood up in his rags, 
and made his first temperance address, himself the best 
illustration of the awful ruin that rum will work. 
Loving arms had to be thrown around him for weary 
weeks, to keep him steady. But the touch of that 
friendly hand, and the pleading voice of one who cared 
for his soul, was salvation to John B. Gough, and sal- 
vation to thousands of drunkards all over the world. 
I mention this to encourage you not to despair of 
efforts to save the lost. No matter how feeble the 
spark of manhood, you may fan it to a flame; no 
matter how low the plane on which men may move, 
you may lift them up higher, and still higher, and yet 
higher, into very peership with the angels in light. 



284 THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

And this must be the spirit of the Church, because it 
is the spirit of Christ, who came to seek and to save 
the lost; and the more lost the more do they need his 
saving grace. I know some people are more valuable 
to the Church and the Lord's service than others; 
and, therefore, we should conduct our Church atiairs, 
and preach so as to reach the so called better classes, 
but do not forget the poor outcast for whom Jesus 
died. Wherever there is a man, there is a subject of 
His grace; and wherever there is a soul, that soul may 
be burnished for the crown of his rejoicing forever. 

4. Jesus did not turn away from this woman 
because she did not at first appreciate his teaching. 
He asks her for a drink, and is at once met with her 
Samaritan prejudices, "How is it that thou, being a 
Jew, askest drink of me, who am a Samaritan 
woman?" Jesus replied, "If thou knewest the gift 
of God, and who it is that saith to thee. Give me to 
drink; thou wouldest have asked of him^ and he would 
have given thee living water." The woman said, "Sir, 
thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; 
from whence hast thou that living water? Art thou 
greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, 
and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his 
cattle?" Jesus answered, "Whosoever drinketh of 
this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh 
of the water that /shall give him, shall never thirst; 
but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a 
well of water, springing up into everlasting life." 
How that sentiment sparkles all over with divinity 
for us ! We have found in Jesus just such a well of 



THE WOMAN AT THE AVELL. 285 

blessing, for time and for eternity, and have tasted of 
that godliness which "hath the promise of the life 
that now is, and of that which is to come"; but the 
brightest idea this woman got from all this was, that 
it would be a very convenient water to have. Hence 
she said, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, 
neither come hither to draw." Some of us would 
have turned away without hope of teaching spiritual 
lessons to one who moved only on a materialistic 
plane. But she made her mistake where we might 
have made ours. The value of our religion is sus- 
pended on one question, Who is Jesus? and the im- 
portant word in that question is " TFA^." "If thou 
hadst known the gift of God, and who it is that saith 
to thee. Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked 
of him," and so she would, and she would have listened 
differently, and interpreted differently, and would 
have been at his feet in a different attitude. Who is 
Jesus of Nazareth ? is the fundamental question of the 
New Testament. If this woman had settled this ques- 
tion, and settled it right, she would have sat humbly 
at his feet, to learn of him, and bear his yoke. If 
Jesus is the Christy He is the one Teacher, and Priest, 
and King. If he is the Son of God, He is the infal- 
lible Teacher, the unchangeable Priest, and the all- 
powerful King. He is God-with-us, and worthy to be 
honored and worshiped. No one can be a Christian 
who does not begin here. No one is fit to preach, 
who can not accept this fundamental truth. 

Jesus seems to change the subject, "Go call thy 
husband and come hither." ^'I have no husband." 



286 THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

<'Thou hast well said, I have no husband; for thou has 
had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not 
thy husband, in that saidst thou truly," and she felt 
herself to be standing in the presence of one who knew 
all her life; and she started back with astonishment, 
saying, ^'I perceive, sir, that thou art a prophet." 
How skillfully Jesus had brought her one step toward 
knowing who he was; and how quickly her mind 
turned toward him as a divine teacher. A prophet is 
one who speaks the word of God by inspiration. She 
wanted a disturbing question settled by a "Thus saith 
the Lord." Opinions never satisfy. The word of God 
is the end of all controversy. We are never satisfied 
with a conclusion drawn from a probable premise, for 
we can never have more in the conclusion than we 
have in the premise. The contention between Jew 
and Samaritan was whether the temple on Mount 
Gerizim, or the one on Mount Zion, was the place 
where men ought to worship. "Our fathers worshiped 
in this mountain, but you say Jerusalem is the place 
where men ought to worship" — as if to say will you 
please settle this question by a "Thus saith the Lord?" 
Note how Jesus answered. He did not begin by saying 
"Woman, you must be very ignorant," or "Woman, 
you must be very dishonest." There are many who 
think all those who difier from them in religion or 
politics, must be either very ignorant, or very dis- 
honest. Men may be very intelligent and very honest, 
and yet be mistaken. Jesus said, "Woman, believe 
me, the hour comcth when neither in this mountain, 
nor yet in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father. 



THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 287 

The true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit 
and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship 
Him. God is a spirit; and they that worship Him, 
must worship Him in spirit and in truth." See how 
He answers, and yet covers the answer all over with 
the glory of the better hour, so near at hand, when men 
would not need to go to this temple or to that to 
worship, but could worship God anywhere, if only 
they will approach Him in spirit and in truth. It 
would be good always to preach the Gospel in such a 
manner as will make men forget their narrow and 
bigoted prejudices. Jesus answers this woman in 
these words, "Ye worship, ye know not what; we 
know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews;" 
but her question and his answer drop out of sight, in 
his picture of the new and better times, so near at 
hand. 

Religious prejudices yield slowly. Here is a 
woman who has accepted Jesus as a prophet, and yet, 
when he answers her question, she is not fully satisfied, 
because the answer uproots some of her cherished 
convictions. This is not uncommon. None of us 
yield, without a struggle, convictions which have been 
dear to us, and have controlled our lives. I am not 
surprised when a man, finding one authority against 
him, immediately seeks another, hoping to find it on 
his side of the question. Indeed, these are the men 
who usually "prove all things," and then "hold fast to 
that which is good." 

Without calling in question the answer of the 
new prophet, the woman simply replies, "1 know that 



288 THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

Messias cometh, which is called Christ; when He is 
come He will tell us all things." As if to say: "I will 
not reject your answer, but I will wait for its confir- 
mation by the Teacher of teachers, who is coming 
soon." That was the Saviour's opportunity, and he 
immediately replied, "I that speak unto thee am He." 
She believed him. There stood before her the long 
expected Messiah — "the Wonderful, the Counsellor, 
the Prince of Peace, the mighty God, the everlasting 
Father" — the one who had been in her cradle song, 
and in her mother's cradle song — and in the songs of 
Israel. The Samaritans claimed Abraham as their 
father, and were governed by the law of Moses. They 
were familiar with that prophecy of Moses, "A prophet 
like unto me shall the Lord your God raise up; him 
shall ye hear in all things," and, like the Jews, were 
waiting and expecting his advent. And now here is 
one who says to this woman, at Jacob's well, "I am 
he." No wonder she is excited and enthusiastic. 
She forgets what she came after. She leaves her 
water-pot at the well, and hurries back to the village; 
and, forgetting all the cares of household duty, she 
goes to the men, and says "Come, see a man who told 
me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?" 
And she stirred up the whole town. A good way to 
reach the masses is to reach one soul, and fill it with 
enthusiasm. The citizens gathered at once to hear a 
message from the Christ. 

Note how Jesus meets this woman, full of Samar- 
itan prejudices, and concerned chiefly with temporal 
and material interests, and not at all appreciative of 



THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 289 

spiritual truths, and leads her along, patiently and 
perseveringly, till she comes to a > coopt some appreci- 
ation of the great central truth of Christ's religion ; and 
how her soul is set on fire to bring others to the Christ 
who had revealed himself to her. Take courage, and 
be hopeful, even when your efibrts to save men are 
not at first appreciated. 

5. Jesus set a value on the small opportunity. 

He had but one for an audience. Preachers are 
often discouraged by small audiences. Many refuse 
to speak, except in the crowded assembly. The ora- 
tor is wonderfully helped by the reflex influence of an 
attentive audience; but the man who can not preach 
to the one, as to the thousands, has not reached 
Christ's high plane of preaching. Some of the most 
beautiful and forceful lessons of all Christ's preaching 
are found in this conversation with the woman at the 
well. Here was just one person, but that person had 
a soul to be saved. Besides, his apostles needed to 
get a vision of the philanthropy of the gospel they 
were afterward to preach. That Jesus should talk to 
this Samaritan of the things of the coming kingdom, 
was a valuable object lesson. Before the incident 
closed, Jew and Samaritan were alike soul-centered 
in Christ — a beautiful picture of the human brother- 
hood Jesus came to establish by his life and his gospel. 

Jesus seemed to say, "This opportunity is here; 
it may never come again; it must be improved now; 
and, small as men may count it, I can make it glorify 
my Father." If there is any one thing that hinders 



20 



290 THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

the work of God's people, more than another, it is 
this dream-life of ours, as to what we would do if we 
only had a large opportunity. We read of Spurgeon, 
and his great work, and sit down to dream of what we 
would do if we were only a Spurgeon; or of Peabody, 
giving away his millions for the public weal, and 
dream of what we would do if we were only a Pea- 
body. But we will never be either of these benefac- 
tors. The personal influence of most of us does not 
extend far beyond our door-yard. If we ever do any 
good in the world, we must begin with the opportuni- 
ties nearest at hand; and, if we complain that no 
great opportunities have ever come to us, it may be 
that the Lord has seen that we were not competent for 
great opportunities. In the parable of the talents, 
Jesus says the man gave to each of his servants " ac- 
cording to his several ability." God is sending us 
just such work as He knows we can do; and if, like 
the servant who buried the one talent, we neglect our 
opportunities, we may have even these taken from us, 
and given to those who have proved their ability and 
willingness to handle them. In fact, it is the handling 
of the small opportunity that fits us to handle the 
larger one. I have heard of a man who, when a lad, 
supported himself and his widowed mother selling 
pop-corn balls; but this fitted him to go into business 
on a larger, and again and again a larger scale, until 
he became a rich man. He would never have deserved 
to be a rich man if he had despised the day of pop- 
corn balls. So if we would become rich in good 
works we must not despise the day of small things. 



THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 291 

We must put the foot on the first round of the 
ladder of character and efficiency, and go up round 
by round. 

"One Niagara is enough for a continent"; we 
need thousands of little streams to meander through 
our fields and meadows, to make them fruitful. So a 
few Luthers, and Wesleys, and Campbells, and Glad- 
stones, is all the world needs. We need thousands of 
smaller minds and hands for the great work of the 
Lord. We need the personal worker in our churches, 
who can talk with the woman at the well, the woman 
in the parlor, the woman in the kitchen; with the man 
in the field, in the work-shop, in the store, in the 
office, and bring home to the one person, the great 
need of salvation. Hand picked fruit is always best, 
and keeps the longest. A church made up of such 
workers sows the seed for the harvest which the 
preacher gathers. Churches are always anxious to 
secure the drawing preacher. He must be logical, 
like Paul, eloquent, like Apollos, gentle, like John, and 
be able to draw, and instruct, and entertain. Such a 
preacher as most of our churches seek, is a rare com- 
bination of good talent; but, after all, the drawing 
pew is better than the drawing pulpit. What a 
church needs is workers — men and women who will 
seize every opportunity the Lord puts within their 
reach. Such a church will not say, "Four months, 
then Cometh the harvest." The harvest will be ripen- 
ing all the time, — one sowing and another 7'eaping — 
the sower and the reaper rejoicing together. Such a 
church will not postpone the reaping till the coming 



292 THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

of the noted evangelist. At every meeting there will 
be the gathering of fruit unto life eternal. 

Macaulay tells the story of a man who had the 
contract for putting in the stained windows for a 
great cathedral. He was much annoyed by the per- 
sistent request of his apprentice for the privilege of 
designing and arranging the glass, for just one window. 
He did not wish to discourage the young man's 
ambition, nor did he wish an experiment to be made 
with costly material. So he said to him, "If you will 
furnish your own material, you may try your hand on 
that window," pointing to one not very prominent. 
But what was his surprise to find him gathering up the 
little bits of glass that he himself had cut oflf and 
thrown away. He set to work with these, and suc- 
ceeded in working out a design of rare symmetry and 
beauty. When the doors were thrown open, and the 
people came in to view the work, they stood in great 
groups before that window, admiring its charming 
excellence, until the master artist became exceedingly 
jealous of the rising reputation of his apprentice. So 
may we gather up the little bits of time, and influence, 
and money, and opportunity, which we generally throw 
away, and weave them into a life so pure and beautiful, 
that the angels will stand before it in admiration and 
praise. 



so. 



Jno. iii : i6. Acts xiv : i. Matt. 



n 



INYITE attention to three passages of Scripture 
in which I find this word " So." 

I. " God so loved." This is more than to say 
God loved. We look for some measure of love when 
we read, " God so loved ;" and we find it in : "That 
He gave." Love always gives. Love is unselfish- 
ness. The great mission of Christ is to lift the world 
out of selfishness into love. Love gives — gives time, 
influence, money — and realizes that, " It is more 
blessed to give than to receive." The exercise of any 
passion has its reaction. If you hate any one it is 
worse for you than the one you hate ; if you lie about 
any one, it is worse for you than the one you Lie 
about. Anything that goes out from you to curse 
another, comes back with double cursings for yourself. 
So also any thing that goes out from you to bless 
another, comes back with double blessings for your- 
self. Love finds its highest joy in service ; and service 
is but another word for giving. If we do not give we 



294 "so." 

are not like God. We may settle our standing before 
God, by settling whether we are givers. 

But we find a still larger measure of God's love : 
" He so loved that He gave His only begotten Son," 
This was more than money. The purest love gives 
the dearest things. During the civil war the unselfish 
heart was appealed to, over and over again, for money 
and other ofierings for the comfort and relief of the 
suffering soldier ; but the most precious gift to the 
nation was the man himself who laid down his life to 
save the Union. Patriotic mothers gave their boys, 
and sent them away with a hearty God-be-with-you ; 
but we may well raise the question whether all these 
mothers would have made the sacrifice, if they had 
known all they so sadly learned afterward. They 
cherished the fond hope that the dear boy would 
come home unharmed to the old fireside, and perhaps 
be received by a popular ovation. But, Alas ! how 
many of them fell in the face of the foe or sufiered a 
living death in cruel prisons. Not long ago, I saw a 
letter written by the great-hearted Lincoln, to a widow 
in New England, who had five boys sleeping between 
Washington and Richmond. It was a tender letter of 
condolence ; and also of congratulation that she was 
able to make so great a sacrifice for our country. 
Would she have given those boys so freely if she had 
known all this the day they enlisted? Perhaps so. 
But God sent his Son into this world, knowing that he 
must suffer and die. Nor was all his suffering on the 
cross. The Man of Sorrows was in a world that could 
not appreciate his loving kindness. He came to his 



"so." 295 

own, and they received him not. He wept over 
sinful elerusalem. His heart was full of pity, and good 
will toward those who despised him. How that heart 
must have suffered ! He died of a broken heart. 

We measure service by the motive back of it. 
There is much giving that is mere parade. Kings 
put thousands into banquets to gratify royal pride. 
Politicians spend thousands to be elected to places of 
honor, to gratify ambition. Look out on the lake. 
There is a man swimming. He is an expert. He 
moves gracefully and wins applause. To the witnesses 
he is on parade. But look again, he is making every 
effort to rescue a fellow man who is clinging to a 
wreck. Now he has risen to a higher plane — humanity. 
Look again, the perishing man is his own brother — the 
younger brother — the baby of the old home. Now he 
has risen to the plane of brotherly affection, and you 
have forgotten all about his expertness as a swimmer. 
But again, you are mistaken. That is not his brother. 
That is his enemy. His father is also a bitter enemy, 
and yet he does not relax his effort to save him. He 
has risen now to the plane of magnanimity. Not 
many would do this. But this is God's love. He 
sent His Son to save His enemies. Jesus prayed for 
those who despised and rejected Him. He sought 
their rescue : "That whosoever believeth on Him 
might not perish." The world is perishing. The 
prophet said, "Where no vision is the people perish." 
Where no revelation is, men perish, physically, men- 
tally, morally, eternally. Jesus said, " My words, they 
are Spirit and they are life." 



296 " so." 

In this one verse we have the soul of the gospel 
— God's love for nian because he is man. He sets a 
high value on man — worth more than all the world. 
There is in it the picture of disinterested benevolence, 
the purest unselfishness, the willingness to make the 
greatest sacrifices for man's rescue, and man's uplift. 
It is a pattern for all who would rise to the highest 
plane of service and joy. Jesus, for the joy set before 
Him, endured the cross, and dispised the shame, and 
through this humiliation came to His exaltation. He 
suffered that we might have joy; He died that we 
might live; He wore a crown of thorns that we might 
have a crown of life. This is the old, old story that 
has power to save the world. It is said that the 
Moravian missionaries in Greenland were, for a long 
time, "in the habit of directing the attention of the 
Greenlanders to the existence and attributes of God, 
the fall of man, and the demands of the Divine law, 
hoping thus, by degrees, to prepare the minds of their 
hearers for the more mysterious and sublime truths of 
the gospel. As this plan had been tried for five years 
with no success, they now resolved, simply, and in the 
first instance, to preach Christ crucified to the be- 
nighted Greenlanders, and not only were their own 
souls set at peculiar liberty in speaking, but the Word 
went home to the hearts and consciences of the 
hearers, so that they trembled at their danger, and 
rejoiced, with joy unspeakable, in the appointment 
and exhibition of Christ as a Savior from the wrath to 
come." Paul says, "Unto them that are called, Christ, 
crucified, is the power of God, and the wisdom of God." 



'' so." 297 



II. — So Spake. 



"And it came to pass in Iconium that Paul and Bar- 
nabas went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, 
and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and 
also of the Greeks believed." — Acts xiv: i. 

It is one thing to speak and quite another to 
speak with convincing power; and yet another to so 
speak that great multitudes will believe. Paul and 
Barnabas were great evangelists. What was the 
secret of their power ? 

1. — They were good men. It was said of Barna- 
bas that he was a "good man, full of the Holy Spirit 
and of faith, and much people was added unto the 
Lord." 

There is a logical connection between the char- 
acter of Barnabas and his great success. He was a 
good man. This more than being a just man. The 
just man says: "What is mine is mine, and what is 
yours is yours. You shall have yours, no less and no 
more, and I will have mine, no less and no more." 
The good man says: "You shall have yours and mine 
also if it be necessary to your peace and comfort." 
Paul says one would "scarcely die for a just man, but 
for a good man some would dare to die." The good 
man is willing to spend and be spent for the good of 
others. Barnabas was such a man. He sold his pos- 
sessions and brought the money into the common 
treasury. He was full of faith — faith in man, faith in 
God, and faith in the power of the Gospel. The suc- 
cessful evangelist believes there is that in man which 
will respond to moral truth. We say to the pupil that 



298 "so." 

two and two are four, and confidently expect him to 
respond affirmatively. We come to men with moral 
truth in the same confidence. As we carry the cup 
of cold water to the thirsty man, in the fullest faith 
that he will thankfully receive it, so we carry the 
water of salvation to a thirsting world, in the fullest 
confidence that men everywhere will drink and live. 
The successful preacher has all the confidence that the 
word of God is as water to the famishing, and as 
bread to the starving. He believes the Gospel is the 
power of God unto salvation, and that it will always 
and everywhere make the man of God perfect in every 
good word and work. The thirsty man may not know 
whether water is made up of two parts oxygen and 
one part hydrogen, or two parts hydrogen and one 
part oxygen, nor do we deem it necessary to enlighten 
him. We know he needs water and we proceed to 
give it to him. Likewise the successful preacher 
"preaches the Word." He does not stop to prove 
that it is the Word of God, nor to discuss the nature 
of inspiration, nor tell what so-called critics may think 
of Moses and the Pentateuch. He goes on the sup- 
position that the moral nature of man will know and 
recognize God's truth and joyfully respond to it. He 
believes in man; he believes in the power of God's 
word to regenerate, and uplift man; he believes in 
God; in the ever-present Christ who said, "I will be 
with you alway." 

"Full of the Holy Spirit," Jesus said, "He that 
believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of hi& 
belly shall flow rivers of living water." This spake he 



"so." 299 

of the Spirit which they that believe on him should 
receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because 
that Jesus was not yet glorified. This gift of the 
Spirit was inspiration to the preachers of the cross, 
and a source of that confidence and earnestness which 
made their words all but irresistible. This Holy 
Spirit also helped their infirmities, and gave them a 
personal fruitfulness of character which added power 
to all their utterances. Out of these holy men flowed 
rivers of blessing for the people. 

2. — We may reach a few learned men by a very 
learned sermon, and such a sermon has its value. 
But the learned sermon does not reach the multitudes 
and certainly not the "great multitudes." We there- 
fore conclude that Paul and Barnabas set forth the 
truth with great simplicity. They used words which 
a "great multitude" could understand. In these 
multitudes of people there were the young and the 
old, the learned and the unlearned, the quick to see 
and the slow to see the connection between premise 
and conclusion. The great preacher is great because 
he has a great message, but greater if he makes all 
the people understand and appreciate his message. It 
is said of a celebrated preacher in London that he car- 
ried his sermons to his great audience after he had 
read them to his comparatively illiterate house ser- 
vant, and ascertained that she understood every word 
and thought of his message. Paul and Barnabas must 
have used a similar simplicity of speech in Iconium. 



300 



3. — Their preaching was convincing. A great 
multitude of the Jews, and also of the Greeks be- 
lieved. What is convincing preaching? I cannot 
think they resorted to the methods of the camp-meet- 
ing, nor to the less esteemed methods of the Salvation 
Army. Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost con- 
vinced three thousand. The one simple proposition 
of that sermon was this: Jesus of Nazareth is the 
Christ, the Son of the living God. This sustained, 
their faith was not in vain, nor was their hope vain. 
The one crowning fact by which he sought to sustain 
this proposition was the resurrection of Jesus from 
the dead. And this fact he sustained by the testi- 
mony of their royal prophet David, and by the testi- 
mony of eye witnesses — the men who stood with him 
on that great day. He quotes David's words as un- 
questionable testimony, because he was a prophet of 
God. He quotes David in the fullest faith that the 
people present could not reject his testimony. The 
apostles stood there as living witnesses of what they 
saw and heard. Paul always laid great emphasis on 
this one central fact, as if this was the sure anchor of 
faith. Indeed, ever since that day the preacher who 
would convince men that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God, and the Savior of men, must set forth this 
fact in the clearest and most convincing language. 
This fact true, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God 
and the Apostles were His chosen embassadors. This 
true, the New Testament record is true. This true, 
the quotations from the Old Testament are from the 
books named, and the Old Testament facts have the 



" so." 301 

sanction of the Holy Spirit, no matter what the so- 
called higher critics may say or think about it. One 
fact is worth more than a thousand thoeries. 

It seems to me that Paul and Barnabas used 
irresistible logic in their preaching. They must have 
aimed at fixedness of conviction, so that their converts 
would not be blown about by every wind of doctrine. 
And why should not the preacher of to-day, so preach 
that men will be rooted and grounded in the faith ? 
How often men are brought to Christ by shallow 
methods, which leave the convert to the mercy of 
the plausible sophistries of infidels, or the refined 
skepticism of the semi-christian ! 

4. — Paul and Barnabas were deeply in earnest. 
"Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel, for necessity 
is laid upon me," said the great apostle to the Gen- 
tiles. "We cannot but speak the things which we 
have seen and heard," was the answer of Peter and 
John to those who commanded them to speak no more 
in the name of the Lord Jesus. They seem to have 
been controlled by an all-constraining love for, and 
loyalty to Christ. They felt a personal responsibility 
for the deliverance of Christ's Gospel to the world. 
Like the old prophets, they felt the "burden of the 
Lord." "Necessity is laid upon us." "We believe and 
therefore we speak." It is out of this that eloquence 
is born. Eloquence is from the Latin, and literally 
means talking out that which is within. The man 
whose message is the "burden of the Lord" cannot 
but speak, and his words will burn with earnestness 



302 "so." 

and enthusiasm, and the people will call him eloquent, 
even though he may murder the Queen's English. 

III. — Let Your Light so Shine. This is more 
than to say, "Let your light shine." Christians gen- 
erally let their light shine, but how many of us have 
anxiety about the "so shine that others may see our 
good works and glorify God." This means living for 
the good of others. Most people in the church are 
concerned chiefly with their own salvation. Lord, 
have mercy on me, keep me, save me. We will never 
rise to the right conception of discipleship until we 
reach the plane of unselfishness, where we lay our- 
selves, our wealth and our character under contribu- 
tion for the salvation of others. Jesus Christ teaches 
in this that he expects his disciples to be "living 
epistles, read and known of all men." He was him- 
self the Word of God that "became flesh and dwelt 
among men, full of grace and truth, and they beheld 
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the 
Father." The word of God in a human life is a living 
gospel. Truth incarnate has power over our children, 
our friends, our neighbors. Character preaches. 
Every Christian is preaching some sort of sermon 
every day to those with whom he comes in contact. 

You remember the song, "Let the lower lights 
be burning," suggested by the wreck of a vessel on 
Lake Erie one stormy night, because she could not 
make the harbor. The pilot could see the light of 
the light-house but no lights along the shore. These 
had been blown out. "What place is this?" said the 
captain. "This, I think, is Cleveland, sir," said the 



" so." 303 

pilot, "there is the light-house." "But what of the 
lights at the mouth of the river ? " "Gone out, sir." 
"Can you make the harbor ? " "We must, or perish 
in these angry waters." He made the attempt and 
the vessel went down. 

There is one light that never goes out — the light 
of thei^n of righteousness; but these lights along 
the shore, how many shine but dimly, and how many 
go out entirely ! The world needs the light of the 
church. "Let your lights so shine before men, that 
they may see your good works and glorify your Father 
who is in heaven." 

The gospel, the preached gospel, the lived Gospel 
— these constitute the trinity of power for the world's 
salvation. This gospel became incarnate in Jesus 
Christ. The faithful preacher is an embodiment of 
this gospel. He has first of all put it into his own 
life, so that his words and works may win souls to 
Christ. His converts are all disciples of Christ, tak- 
ing lessons from His lips and His life, and filled with 
a holy ambition to embody more and more, in their 
lives, the life of the Son of God ; not more for their 
own sakes than for the sake of others who may, by 
the light of holy living, be led from the kingdom of 
darkness into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Out of such a church will flow rivers of blessing. "In 
the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in 
the desert." "The wilderness and the solitary places 
shall be glad for them ; and the desert shall rejoice 
and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, 
and rejoice even with joy and singing." 



DEC 1 1899 



iffiARY OF CONGRESS 



029 786 324 1 



